Fool Me Twice
by QuirkQuirk
Summary: Finding himself suckered into a winter trip to a ski resort, Roxas must deal with all of the crazy events that come his way... as well as face up to some old issues that just can't seem to be left behind. AxelRoxas AU COMPLETE
1. Here We Go Again!

**Author's Notes:** Oh man. Seriously, you guys. I said I would never do it. So many people asked for this, and I said again and again that it just wasn't something I thought would ever happen. And yet here I am… writing the into author's note for a sequel to 'Where The Hell Is Magic Lake?' XD

And why am I doing it? Well I'd have thought that would be obvious! I am doing it for YOU! Yes, you. Me and my friend who originally schemed and plotted up WTHIML thought long and hard, and decided that yes, we wanted a sequel. And it seemed as though a lot of you did as well, and so well…

HERE YOU GO! 8D

**The disclaimer! **I do not in any way, shape, or form lay claim to Kingdom Hearts, any of the characters contained in it, or anything else related to the ultimate Disney/Final Fantasy crossover video game of awesomeness. But darn it all, I'm allowed to play around with it!

**Pairings:**Axel/Roxas as main pairing, hints at Riku/Sora, Zexion/Demyx, and Seifer/Hayner on the side.

**Summary:** Finding himself suckered into a winter trip to a ski resort, Roxas must deal with all of the crazy events that come his way, and face up to some old issues that just can't seem to be left behind. AxelRoxas AU

**Warnings:** Boyxboy happenings, craziness, occasional over-exaggerated characterizations, and general craziness all around.

**Other Stuff:**This story is dedicated to every single person whom I painstakingly assured that there would never be a sequel. XD

**.x.x.x.**

_Just when you think you're in control,  
just when you think you've got a hold,  
just when you get on a roll,  
Oh, here it goes, here it goes, here it goes again.  
Oh, here it goes again!_

"Here It Goes Again!" – OK GO

**.o.O.o.**

**Fool Me Twice**

**Here We Go Again!**

**-o-**

"_Fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me!"_

_Chinese proverb_

**-o-**

Back and forth, back and forth, the creaking and groaning of chains was the only sound to be heard. Roxas had always found swingsets to be a rather nice place for sitting and thinking. The rhythmic movement provided a sense of consistency that the blonde found to be strangely comforting, and quite favorable to brooding and pondering.

Winter never truly felt like _winter_ in Roxas's town. He lived in a small little town where the sun was always shining, the rare instances of rainfall were always followed by rainbows, and every storm cloud had a freaking _silver lining_. It was so utterly _nice_ all the time, and Roxas wasn't adverse to it for most of the year, but… just once he wished he could have a white Christmas, or a rainy December day, or a cloudy winter morning. _Anything_. Couldn't the weather toss him bone, just once?

But no, the setting sun in the sky was casting a yellow glow over the earth, remaining warmth from the rays settling over Roxas as he swung in place. Roxas liked his swing, though. No outside distractions, just him and his thoughts. And the quiet creaking of the swing's chains.

_Ring a ling ding! Ding a ling doo! Diddily diddily ding! Ring-a-ding-a-doo!_

… and the ridiculously irritating ringtone issuing from his pocketed phone.

"Uuuuuuuugh…"

Groaning, Roxas pulled his cell phone out of his pocket, knowing that _that_ ringtone could only mean one person, he reluctantly glanced at the screen, seeing the name '_Sora_' flashing obnoxiously at him. The spiky haired brunette had picked out the ringtone himself, setting it as his personalized ring for Roxas's phone. It was annoying, but it did serve as an effective warning. A 'Sora Alarm' of sorts. Roxas would never want to deal with Sora without being properly prepared; mentally and possibly physically as well.

Sighing, Roxas flipped his phone open, holding it to his ear but maintaining a safe distance in case Sora just started shouting excitedly over something. "…Hello?"

"Roxas!" Sora greeted – chipper, but not overly, _obnoxiously_, excited. "Hi! How are you today?"

"I'm fine." Roxas replied, immediately suspicious. When Sora didn't get straight to a point, something was up. Something devious, and something that ultimately led to terrible, horrible disaster for Roxas.

"Well that's good!" Sora happily chirruped, humming to himself a little.

"Sora, what do you want?" Roxas asked, no longer wishing to beat around the bush.

"Weeeeeeeell…" Sora drawled. "See the thing is, me and Riku were planning a trip, and –"

_Click_.

Roxas wasted no time in hanging up, forcefully shoving the phone back in his pocket as if to get it as far away from his ears as possible. No. No way._Nothing_ involving Sora and the phrase "planning a trip" was even a _little_ bit okay in Roxas's book.

_Ring a ling ding! Ding a ling_–

"What?" Roxas irritably snapped.

"Hey Roxas! I think your phone died or something, because –"

"No, Sora. I hung up on you."

"Oh!" Sora didn't sound disheartened in the least. "Well that explains it! Anyways, like I was saying, I was talking with Riku and we decided it would be fun to –"

_Click_.

It only took a few moments before the phone was ringing yet again, and Roxas picked it up, only to immediately hang up without a single word. It, of course, rang again an instant later, and this time Roxas didn't even bother answering. After going through the whole obnoxious ring cycle it stopped… before starting up again as Sora called back once more. Relentless as ever.

Five more times the phone rang and was ignored, before it finally stopped for good. Roxas had to wait a minute to be sure, but when a full sixty seconds had passed without that horribly irritating ring, the blonde let out a sigh of relief, settling back into his swing and kicking his legs back and forth, swaying leisurely. Yes, it was nice to just sit and think on his little swing with no distractions, no interruptions…

What was that sound?

Digging his heels into the sand beneath his swing, effectively halting his swinging motion. Tilting his head, Roxas listened carefully, trying to decipher what he was hearing. It was… very rhythmic, and growing louder by the second. A pitter-pattering of sorts. Almost like…

Oh crap.

"ROXAS!"

The blonde groaned, sealing himself for the inevitable collision. Sure enough, a second later he was being pummeled to the ground, an excitable brunette landing right on top of him with an ear to ear grin.

"Found you!"

God, Roxas hated small towns.

"Sora, get off me." Roxas ground out, shoving at the brunette. Sora complied, but barely, sitting back on his heels enough to allow Roxas to sit up, but he refused to extract himself from the blonde completely. Grumbling, Roxas sat up, rubbing at the back of his head. With a heavy sigh he looked to Sora, wincing at the intensity of the other boy's happiness, which seemed to radiate off of him in hard-hitting waves.

"Hey Roooooooooxas." Sora sing-songed. "What are you doing over winter break?"

"Staying home and wasting my life with computer games and daytime television." Roxas quickly responded, finality in his voice.

"But that's no fun!" Sora whined, pouting. "Wouldn't you much rather –"

"No."

"But it sure would be nice if –"

"No."

"Haven't you ever wanted –"

"_No_."

"But a _white Christmas_!"

"Sora, I _said_… wait, what?"

Sora positively beamed, realizing Roxas's curiosity was piqued. "A white Christmas, Roxas! A blanket of snow, picturesque treelines, towering mountains and cocoa by a fire, the whole shebang! Haven't you ever wanted that?"

Now as much as Roxas had learned to _never_ trust Sora's abilities for planning "fun", a white Christmas was just what he had been longing for. It was hard to feel the cliché holiday feelings that were always emulated on Christmas cards when surrounded by palm trees and clear blue skies.

"I…" Roxas reluctantly replied. "I suppose the thought has crossed my mind, yes."

"Well that's great!" Sora exclaimed, throwing his arms out. "Because Riku has a cabin up in the mountains, and he wanted to know if I wanted to go up there over winter break, and of _course_ I said yes, but then I thought 'oh wait! I bet Roxas would like to go!' so I asked him if I could invite you, and…"

At this point Roxas stopped listening, his mind wandering. He always wondered why Sora considered him a close friend, when most of their interaction was reluctant or outright unwilling on Roxas's part due to their clashing personalities and lingering memories of past events-gone-awry, but Sora consistently invited him to things, made an effort to go out of his way to help when Roxas was having problems, and was just generally friendly and nice to him on a daily basis.

"…so I thought, I mean, it'd only be for like a week, and we'd be taking the train up and then renting a car, but if you wanted to come to the cabin with us it'd be totally cool, and there's snow sports and hot tubs and I just think it would be totally awesome if you came with us!"

Roxas considered it, sitting there in the playground sand with Sora on his lap. Under the circumstances, he considered it the best he could. A cabin at a ski resort was… it was civilized, unlike where he had been dragged to the _last_ time Sora planned an event. And it would no doubt be lavish, judging by the fact that Riku and his family were rather well off. And he wouldn't be paying extravagant amounts of money for a trip he had always wanted to go on, since the whole thing was basically taken care of. Taking the train meant no horrible music being played on car radios by Sora. Events taking place all over a mountain meant plenty of space to get away from Sora's deviously crazy plans, should any be made…

It was nearly foolproof.

Some tiny little thought was still nagging at the back of his mind, but he brushed it aside. For some reason he _really_ wanted to go on this trip. There were just a few last minute details he wanted to sort out.

"This is like… a legit place, right? Not in the middle of nowhere?"

"Nope!" Sora replied. "It's a really cool resort with lots of staff and interesting people!"

"And we're just going to be gone a week? To do… normal ski-resort stuff?

"Yup?"

"And… this is with you and Riku? _Only _you and Riku?" This aspect was key. Last time he had agreed to Sora's crazy trip plans he had gotten roped into having to get along with a complete stranger. Whom he supposed could no longer be called a complete stranger, but… if that same person was going on _this_ trip, there was no way Roxas was going to be able to go.

"Mm-hmm!" Sora hummed. "Just me and Riku."

Yet for some reason this answer still wasn't completely satisfactory, as much as it reassured him. Riku was a cool guy, and even Sora was alright, once you got past all of the exuberance, but the two of them together… Roxas wasn't sure if he felt like being a third wheel for a week, even if there would probably be plenty of other things to keep him entertained…

"I'll go on one condition." He decided.

Sora beamed at him. "Name your price."

"I get to bring a friend."

.o.x.O.x.o.

"…and there's gonna be freaking slopes to conquer, and hot chicks to woo, and craploads of good food… Damn, Roxas, thanks again for inviting me!"

"And again, you're welcome." Roxas drawled.

Hayner was Roxas's best friend. They were always together, at school, on the weekends… the two had known eachother from a young age and spent most of their childhood growing up nearly inseparably. They didn't hang out quite as consistently anymore, but they were still fast friends, and Hayner had been the first person Roxas had thought to invite along with him. With his messy, dark blonde hair, fashionable and quintessentially "cool" attitude, Hayner was the epitome of guyishness. Sometimes it was a little too much for Roxas, when the "dude" side of Hayner became a little too overbearing, but they got along well, and Roxas knew that having him along for the trip would be a blast. Better than playing second fiddle to the dynamic duo of Riku and Sora for a week. He and Hayner could hit the slopes and pal around… it was going to be great.

Well, it was going to be if Hayner would stop _talking_ about how great it was going to be. Roxas swore, the guy had gone over every aspect of what was going to be "so freaking awesome" about the trip at least a dozen times. Cramped in the double-seated bench on one side of the train, Roxas looked across the isle to see Sora bouncing his head happily along to some music that was no doubt blasting in his headphones. Riku was reading a book, but kept getting jostled by the brunette's thrashing, and Roxas was glad of his choice in seat partners. Hayner could be a little much when he got pumped up about something, but at least Roxas wasn't stuck with _Sora_. Riku didn't seem to mind too much, and Roxas was yet again reminded of how envious he was of the older male's infallible aura of composure.

After a grueling who-knows-how-long train ride, they were finally stopped at the correct station. Grabbing their luggage, the four teens off-boarded the train, stepping out into the chilly mountain air and looking around for the rented car that was supposedly waiting for them.

Crunching through the snow, it didn't take long for them to discover that they were extremely under-dressed for the occasion. They had all worn their warmest clothes in preparation, but coming from a place when it was pretty much nice all the time, their wardrobes were rather limited, as far as clothing for extremely cold whether went.

And standing in about three feet of snow… Roxas had to say that this was probably about the coldest weather he had ever experienced.

"Hey you guys." Hayner called out, jerking his leg out of a particularly slushy pile of snow that he had been unfortunate enough to step into. "I don't think I should have worn my cargo capri's."

"Good observation." Riku chuckled. Of course _he_ had a favourable enough selection of winter wear, and was looking quite snug. Roxas felt water creeping up his legs as it soaked into the fabric of his pants, and he inwardly cursed his lack of foresight.

"I w-wish I owned s-s-something other th-than sho-o-orts." Sora stuttered, teeth chattering with the cold. Riku was quick to offer the brunette his jacket, and Roxas rolled his eyes.

"Let's just get our stuff to the car – I think that's it over there – and then we can go get some snow gear, okay?" Riku suggested, taking charge of the situation. And like sheep, everyone followed, desperately going along with the suggestion seeing as it promised a solution to their dire problem.

Riku knew the way to the cabin, and turned out to be rather good at navigating winding, snow-slicked roads. As soon as their vacation home was in sight, every occupant of the car perked up, looking forward to the promise of shelter and heating systems.

Roxas took a moment to be impressed by the cabin they were going to be staying in. Made of what appeared to be weathered pine, the two-story cabin was snugged into the side of the mountain, surrounded by trees and snowpiles. There appeared to be a balcony with a sizable deck on the second floor, which no doubt would give a spectacular view of the surrounding valley. The late afternoon sun cast shadows from the beams and rafters, creating and overall very picturesque scene.

Taking a turn, the cabin was momentarily out of sight, but after rounding the next corner, they found themselves pulling right up to it. The car was put in park, and immediately all four boys began scrambling for their belongings, eager to get out of the car and into the cabin as quickly as possible.

After dragging their things and themselves through the snow-covered paths and up the icy stairs, Riku unlocked the cabin with his family's set of keys, and Sora was the first to slip inside, followed by Hayner who pushed his way past everyone else. Riku stepped to the side to allow Roxas a chance to get it, and with a shiver, the blonde gratefully stepped inside. As soon as the silver haired teen had closed the door after himself he went over to the thermostat, turning on the heating system.

"Riku I wanna go pick out my room!" Sora announced, bouncing in place with an eager expression. Riku's mouth tugged into a lopsided smile at this.

"There's only two bedrooms. We're gonna have to share."

"Aw man, I don't wanna sleep with a _guy_." Hayner complained, and Roxas shifted uncomfortably at the statement.

"I CLAIM RIKU TO SLEEP WITH!" Sora excitedly announced, oblivious to Hayner's previous complaint. Roxas winced at the volume, and the implications of what Sora was boldly declaring.

"That's fine with me." Riku responded. He turned to Roxas and Hayner next. "You guys okay bunking together for the week?"

"Yeah, I guess." Hayner answered. Roxas simply nodded. Sleeping in the same room as another guy for a week brought him a twinge of discomfort at past memories…

"Alright then, let's get unpacked. I think there are some extra snow jackets and pants laying around somewhere, and then we can all go down to the common lodge and get some dinner."

"Alright!" Hayner replied, pumping his fist enthusiastically. "Food!"

.o.x.O.x.o.

The lodge, it turned out, was a large and impressive cabin set up a little ways down the hill, right smack dab in the centre of grounds. Upon entering, the boys were met by warmth and drifting conversations, even the faint clinking of silverware from an out of sight restaurant of some kind. There was a large sitting area with plush armchairs and couches situated around a huge stone fireplace, and the interiour decorating was homey, in a mountain-ish sort of way.

"Gift shop!" Sora shouted, spying a little room across the way that was full of sparkly knick-knacks. Riku rolled his eyes.

"Alright, while we're waiting for him to get done exploring, let's go get some food."

They ended up ordering their meals to go, so that they could sit around the fireplace to enjoy their food. Hayner and Sora dug into their foods with vigour, as Riku helped himself eagerly, but with a bit more restraint. Roxas, though, found it hard to process that all of this was actually happening. Sora had actually planned a trip that the blonde had wanted to go on, and everything was going smoothly. They were in a normal cabin in a normal ski resort, having a normal meal around a perfectly normal fireplace. It was too good to be true, and yet it was actually happening. Still almost unable to believe his good luck, Roxas happily dug into his food, utterly pleased over how well everything had turned out.

Out of the corner of his eye, a flash of bright colours and music caught Roxas's eye, and he did a double take trying to make sense of what he was seeing. Before he could fully process what and who he was looking at, the person was gone around a corner, and the only thing Roxas had been able to pick out was a disorganized mop of dark blonde hair, cut into some outrageously ridiculous fashion. But for some reason it sparked something in him… the sense that there was something very familiar about the person…

"Hey Roxas, can you pass the mashed potatoes? I wanna make a volcano!"

With a sigh, Roxas turned back to his friends, passing Sora the potatoes and shrugging off the familiar looking person. But as they ate, another strange thing happened, when a flutter of pink brushed past their sitting area. Roxas barely caught a glimpse of who it was, as the person apologized briefly for bumping into Roxas's chair and then was gone. Pink-tinted hair wasn't very common, was it?

After dinner, everyone opted to stay around the fire a little longer, seeing as it was too late to go playing in the snow, but too early to go sit around in the cabin already. Out by the fire it was warm, and there was a social air about the room, so everyone was able to agree that it was the best place to stay.

"So tomorrow I was thinking we could go out pretty early and hit the slopes before everyone else tears them apart, does that sound good?" Riku suggested. Sora, of course, agreed as he snuggled into Riku's lap in the large armchair. Hayner was enthusiastic about the idea as well.

"Oh hell yes!" he shouted. "Those slopes won't know what hit 'em!"

"You've skied before?" Riku asked.

"Pfft, no!" Hayner replied, waving off the very thought with a flick of his wrist. "I snowboard! It's way more intense, and _so_ much cooler."

"Skis are cool too." Riku defended, looking ruffled.

"Heh, yeah, if you're an old geezer or a fruit, maybe!"

It was barely perceptible, and if Roxas hadn't been looking for it maybe he wouldn't have even noticed, but Riku stiffened at the comment, ever so slightly. Roxas internally cringed. Guys liking other guys wasn't something he discriminated against, but after certain events that occurred last summer it wasn't something he was entirely comfortable with either. With Riku and Sora, nothing had ever been officially announced, but Roxas always suspected that there was something going on with them.

"I think skis are cool!" Sora piped up, snuggling up to Riku in a sleepy manner. "They're long and pointy and fast, and they can _fly_."

"No they can't!" Hayner argued.

"I think he's thinking of ski jumps." Riku clarified. "And in any case, skis take a lot more skill and practice to master, I'll have you know."

Roxas rolled his eyes, settling back into his chair with a sigh. Here they went again. Hayner was often brash and argumentative, and Riku was a highly competitive individual as well. He and Sora had grown up play-fighting with sticks, and although they had finally reached a stage where they didn't have to compete with eachother, the nature was still there, and Hayner and Riku were constantly finding something to butt heads about. It was usually never anything serious or mean, but they both had a competitive streak a mile wide.

"…ver done either before?"

"Sorry, what?" Roxas quickly replied, realizing the question was directed at him. Riku and Hayner were both looking at him expectantly, and Sora was fidgeting in his seat, looking over the back of the armchair at something or another that he found to be a point of interest.

"I asked if you've ever done either before, snowboarding or skiing?" Riku repeated.

"Uh… no." Roxas replied. "I've never even been to the snow before."

"WHAT?" Hayner exclaimed, sounding scandalized. "But then how are you gonna –"

"We can ask for an instructor, it's not a big deal." Riku cut in. "Besides, we'll need someone who can show us the different slopes anyways."

"Yeah, I wanna find the biggest, baddest slope there is!" Hayner announced. "And lemme tell ya, I'm gonna –"

"Roxas, I want some cocoa!"

Roxas snapped his attention to Sora, who had just made the out-of-nowhere proclamation. He had no doubts that Sora most certainly wanted some hot chocolate, but wasn't sure what the brunette wanted _him_ to do about it. "Uh… then go get some?"

"But I can't!" Sora insisted. "I'm keeping Riku's lap occupied."

'_Really?'_ Roxas thought. _'Seriously?'_ The kid couldn't go get himself a cup of cocoa because he was _keeping Riku's __lap__ occupied?_ With one look at Sora, he saw that the brunette was absolutely serious, and when he looked to Riku, the silver haired teen simply shrugged, unable to do much with a hundred plus pounds of Sora insisting on being settled in his lap.

"Why don't you make Riku get it with you, that way you can both go together and no one has to worry about anyone else's lap?" Roxas irritably suggested. He didn't like being treated like hired help.

"Pleeeease, Roxas! I'm really comfy! And so is Riku!"

"Well so am I!" he argued, again looking to Riku to see if the older male would throw him an out. Riku simply stifled a smirk, however, so Roxas interpreted that he was amused by the situation. He may have been the oldest and most mature out of all of them, but darnit if he couldn't be a right little bitch at times.

"Why don't you ask Hayner to do it?" Roxas grumbled, sinking further into his seat.

"Oh for God's sake, Roxas, just go get the fucking hot chocolate!" Hayner exclaimed, on the pretense of being frustrated with the argument. Roxas shot him a glare, knowing his friend simply didn't want to be made to put out the effort.

"Fine, but I'm not paying for you. Fork over the money."

Rummaging through his pockets, Sora pulled out a few rumpled dollar bills, handing them over. With a sigh, Roxas pushed himself out of his comfy armchair, giving his friends one last glare before heading off to where Sora had been looking, assuming that was where the cocoa was. It was getting late, though, and the small café area looked completely deserted, even though the lights were still on.

"Hello?" Roxas called, wandering over to the counter. "Uh… is this place still open?" A muffled reply came from somewhere in the vicinity of behind the café counter, and Roxas hesitantly approached it. "Uh… hello?"

"Just a minute…" came the distorted reply, barely comprehensible from under the wooden counter, further abstracted by the rustling of pans and boxes.

Roxas impatiently tapped his fingers against the countertop, waiting for the café server to be done with whatever he was messing around with. When the banging and rustling didn't cease, Roxas cleared his throat loudly, reminding the café attendant of his presence.

"Keep your pants on." Came the grumbled reply. Roxas reminded himself to complain to someone about the service. At the same time, there was something vaguely familiar about that voice, and an ominous feeling started seeping into his veins. All of a sudden he was pretty sure that the café attendant could stay down there as long as he wanted, and that would be just fine with Roxas.

"Uh… uh, actually nevermind, I'm just gonna –"

"Kid, hold your horses, I was just getting a…"

As the cashier stood, grasping a dented spatula, Roxas felt his blood freeze in his veins, and he wanted more than anything to just turn and leave, but he found himself unable to do so.

There was a standstill between both of them, as they stood frozen in place; not speaking, not moving, just _staring_. It was unexpected, it was unlikely, it was _unbelievable_.

"…R–Roxas?"

The blonde reeled, wanting – no _needing_ – to get out of there as fast as possible. But unfortunately he found that his body had turned traitorous on him and refused to listen to his commands that it turn on its heels and march as far away as possible _right fucking now_.

Roxas gulped loudly, right before he found out that his throat and vocal abilities had apparently turned on him as well when he found himself answering the other male's prompt.

"…Axel?"

**.x.x. .o.O.o. .x.x.**

First chapter of a brand new fic, you guys! 8D

I'm so excited to be working on this, and I really hope you guys are gonna enjoy it! I was so, SO pleased with the support I got for this story's predecessor, and because of that, decided to go ahead and do a second installment to the storyline, as many of you asked of me!

Thank you in advance to anyone who decides to leave a review, because I love and appreciate hearing your thoughts! And if you just read it and choose not to review for whatever reason, thank you anyways for reading my story, and I hope you liked it!


	2. NotSoFriendly Competition

**.o.O.o.**

I own nothing! Please don't sue me!

For additional warnings, disclaimers, and summary, see the first chapter!

**.x.x.x.**

_Hate is a strong word,  
but I really, really, really don't like you.  
Now that it's over  
I don't even know what I liked about you.  
Brought you around,  
and you just brought me down.  
Hate is a strong word,  
but I really, really, really don't like you_

"Hate (I Really Don't Like You)" – Plain White T's

**.o.O.o.**

**Fool Me Twice…**

**Not-So-Friendly Competition**

**.o.O.o.**

**-o-**

Roxas was pretty sure he had never been in a more awkward situation. Actually, that was probably a lie, but at the moment it sure _felt_ like it was true. It was one of those moments wherein he felt like it would be perfectly acceptable if he simply burst into a billion infinitesimal pieces and blew away in the wind. Or just simply fell down dead. Yeah, falling down dead would still be preferable to _this_.

He was trying to look _anywhere_ but at Axel, but it was so _hard_ to do when the redhead was standing right there, looking so confused and shocked. And it became even _harder_ to ignore him when he started trying to talk to Roxas.

"Roxas. Wow. So… what are you doing here?"

The blonde gaped for a moment, trying to form words. "I… what are _you_ doing here?"

"I work here." Axel informed him with an amused, crooked smile. "And I asked you first!"

"I'm here on vacation with Sora and Riku. And my friend Hayner. We… Riku has a cabin. But since when do you work here?"

Axel raised a fine red eyebrow in amusement. "Since about a week ago? Larx has a cabin up here too, but like the bitch she is, she's making us pay rent so I had to sign up to do odd jobs around here."

"Us…?"

"Me and Dem and Marly. Zexion couldn't make it, says he had some school stuff to do, even over vacation. I swear, with all the studying that guy does, I think he must get off on it or something."

So Roxas _had_ recognized those two guys earlier! They were Axel's friends! How could he have forgotten? Perhaps he had blocked out the mental trauma that no doubt occurred the _last_ time he had been around them, and in correlation that had also erased his memories of them as well. Yeah, that had to be it.

They lapsed into awkward silence then, neither having anything more to say. In truth, Roxas hadn't seen Axel since about a month after summer vacation had ended. Last summer Sora had thrown a surprise camping trip wherein he and Axel had become… well, Roxas wasn't sure what exactly they had become, but it fizzled out shortly after they had gotten home and settled back into their normal lives. Roxas… Roxas really didn't want to think about it.

"AXEL!"

Roxas whipped around, seeing Sora skipping on over, looking ecstatic. "What a surprise! What are you doing here?"

"I'm working here over vacation." Axel supplied. "I hear you're staying with Riku at his cabin?"

"Uh huh!" Sora replied, nodding. His eyes went wide when he realized where he was, and he seemed to remember the reason he had come over in the first place. "Oh! Axel! I wanted to get some cocoa! Can I have extra marshmallows because you work here?"

"Sure, Sora." Axel replied with a chuckle. He turned to grab a pot of boiling water, pouring it into a mug then mixing in some chocolate powder and milk. "So how long are you guys here for?" he asked as he stirred.

"About a week!" Sora supplied, hopping up onto the barstool. "Riku's cabin is soooo nice, Axel, you should come by and see it! There's a TV and a deck and a big fireplace and…"

Roxas stopped listening, watching Axel as he fixed Sora his drink. The redhead looked the same as the last time Roxas had seen him a few months ago, but he seemed a little more subdued, especially since he was on the job; stirring a little spoon around in a mug with a navy blue apron tied around his waist. It was weird to see him being… almost_normal_.

"Extra marshmallows!" Sora reminded him, as Axel set the cup down on the counter. The request was complied to, as a full handful of fluffy little white puffs was dumped into the mug.

"More, please!" Sora politely requested, and Axel hesitated before scooping out another handful. Sora still looked unsatisfied, although he didn't say anything.

"…you still want more?" Axel surmised.

"You want some cocoa with your marshmallows?" Roxas mumbled, rolling his eyes. Axel gave him a sidelong glance, and looked like he would have enjoyed snickering at the joke as well, but for whatever reason he didn't.

"Yes, thank you!" Sora eagerly replied as he accepted Axel's offer, holding out his mug. Axel laughed before handing over the bag.

"Here kid, knock yourself out."

"Shmellos!" Sora happily exclaimed, taking the bag and scampering back to Riku and Hayner.

"What a character." Axel commented, watching Sora plop himself down on Riku's lap, proudly showing off his bag of sugary treats.

"Yeah…" Roxas agreed, feeling awkward. And yet he still couldn't bring himself to leave.

Silence reined for a few minutes, neither of them having anything to say, until Axel broke it, clearing his throat. "So… Roxas. How have you, uh, been? I haven't heard from you in a while. You, er, stopped calling."

"Yeeeeaaah…" Roxas replied in a drawn out breath. "Sorry about that. I, uh… I've been pretty busy with school."

Which wasn't true in the least. _Liar!_ His brain chastised. Roxas was an alright student, but truth be told… most days he could be found lazing around on the couch or in his room, rather than working on his studies. _You're a liiiiiiiiiiar_! his brain screamed, and he mentally swatted his annoying conscience away.

"Oh. Right." Axel replied. "Well uh, while you're here I'll probably be seeing you around…?" Oh crap, he sounded hopeful.

"Uh, yeah." Roxas replied, edging away. "But, uh… yeah. For now I've gotta, er… go. Back to the cabin. So, uh… bye."

Skittering away, Roxas quickly made his way back to his friends, hissing out a quiet "We need to leave. Now." Thankfully it was late enough that no one fought him on the matter, and after a rather cold trek through the snow they were back at the cabin. Sora quickly tugged Riku away, (a little _too_ quickly, in Roxas's opinion) leaving Roxas and Hayner to their own bedding situation. Which was not extremely elaborate or elegant. Basically the two boys stripped down to their boxers and crashed into the bed, hurriedly pulling the covers up and grunting vague acknowledgements of "goodnight" to eachother before falling asleep.

Except Roxas had a bit of trouble with that last part. Getting to sleep and all that.

Tossing and turning, he couldn't stop thinking about how Axel had come out of nowhere, Axel was _here_, Axel still remembered him, Axel, _Axel,__**Axel**_.

Axel was someone… someone that Roxas had tried very hard to leave in his past. During the infamous summer camping trip, Axel and he… they'd… okay, so maybe they'd had a bit of a _thing_, but as soon as they returned to their normal lives… it was all too overwhelming. Out in the middle of the woods was one thing, but keeping things going in the direction they were headed someplace where all of their friends and family could find out? No. Nuh-uh. No way, José.

So Roxas had cut Axel out of his life. Avoiding him at school and out in town, the blonde had done everything he could to prevent from having to keep up contact with the strange redhead. Discontinuing phonecalls had been the part that made him feel the guiltiest. Whenever his phone would ring with Axel's name flashing on the screen, he felt a sharp stab of guilt rip through his chest for not picking up. But over time the calls came less and less, as Axel seemed to get the hint.

Roxas had done everything right to get rid of his connection with Axel, and in theory he could probably even manage to avoid him for this whole trip as well. It was a big resort, right? Despite the awkward encounter that had taken place earlier, Roxas never had to see Axel again, if he played his cards right.

So… why did that thought not make him happy?

**.o.x.O.x.o.**

"WAKE UP,_WAAAAKE UP_! IT'S A GREAT BIG BEAUTIFUL DAY!"

Oh God.

Roxas rolled over in bed, hardly daring to look at the bedside clock, which would no doubt be cheerily displaying ungodly hours on it's shining little face. Blinking his eyes open, Roxas found that – what a surprise! – it was only a little past six o'clock. Which was actually pretty good, considering the circumstances of who he was on a trip with. It seemed as though Sora had shown some mercy and had actually let them sleep in a little.

"Wh'ta'fck'sgoin'on?" Hayner murmled. Not a murmur, not a mumble, but a murmle. Those horribly indecipherable attempts at speaking when one is barely yet awake, when everything comes out slurred and confused. That is the type of speech that Hayner used, and looking to his side, Roxas found that his friend didn't look much better, could a murmle be a physical appearance.

"Sora's a crazy person in the mornings." Roxas informed his friend, quickly waking up. He'd learned that although Sora yelling could be annoying, Sora doing a flying leap launch of himself on top of you while you were trying to fall back asleep despite the noise was indefinitely worse. Dragging himself out of his room, Roxas sluggishly made his way to the top of the stairs, where his simply stood for a moment, taking in the scene before him.

The downstairs area of the cabin was very open and the upstairs was all shuffled over to one side of the house, allowing Roxas to have a full view of the living room, kitchen, and dining room area. Light was steaming in through the large windows that took up two entire sections of wall in the living room, and as a result everything was very bright. A little too bright a little too early, but when Roxas's eyes had adjusted he could see that outside of the windows was a landscape of smooth white snow, and towering, peaked, evergreen trees.

Roxas tried very hard to hate being awake so early in the morning, but darnit if the gorgeous view through the large picture windows wasn't making it extremely difficult.

"Roxas!"

The blonde glanced down, seeing Sora beaming up at him from in the kitchen. "Morning." He grunted, descending the stairs.

"Roxas!" Sora greeted again, bounding over to the bottom of the stairs to meet Roxas and give him a great big hug. "You're awake!"

"Mmmrr." Roxas grumbled. "I wonder why."

"Riku's making breakfast!" Sora informed the blonde, completely disregarding the bitter tone that had been directed at him. "We're going to have pancakes!"

Oooh. Pancakes. Pancakes sounded like a great flippin' idea right about then. Fluffy, golden, flat little cakes covered in syrup… Roxas's stomache gave an appreciative growl at the thought.

Subdued by the promise of food, Roxas sat himself down at the table, watching Riku leisurely flipping the golden brown flatcakes of fluffy goodness with an ardor normally exhibited by a wolf waiting for its turn at a kill. It might have been too early to be up and starting a day, but it was_never_ too early for food.

"Where's Hayner?" Sora asked, and Roxas blinked himself out of his food concentration to answer.

"What? Oh, I dunno, probably still trying to sleep."

"WHAT!?" Sora looked scandalized. "Well we can't have that! HAAAAAAYNEEEER!"

Roxas watched as Sora raced up the stairs, taking them two at a time in order to get to Hayner as fast as he could, so eager was he to get the day started. Roxas _could_ have tried to stop him, and gone himself to give Hayner a much less jarring wakeup, but Roxas figured that sooner or later the other blonde was going to have to deal with getting a super special Sora wakeup flop.

"Poor guy." Riku commented, although he didn't sound _too_ bad. "He'll never know what hit him."

Sure enough, after a minute or so (after the muffled yells and cursing had died down) a very disgruntled looking Hayner was being dragged down the stairs, looking quite worse for the wear. Nonetheless, the group of boys settled around the table and dug into their breakfast while Sora outlined the day's plans.

"Okay, so we're meeting a ski instructor at eight, and he's gonna show us where to go and what to do in case of emergencies and all that. Then we get to spend the whole day playing around on the slopes, doesn't that sound fun?"

Everyone vaguely nodded in response, more interested in pancakes than Sora's babbling.

Breakfast was a quick and messy affair, and soon enough they were getting bundled up in winter gear borrowed from Riku, and heading out the door. After a quick stop to the rental store to get their snow sport gear, the four boys jumped aboard the ski lift, which took them up to the top of the mountain. Sora kept swinging his legs, which in turn swung the ski lift bench, which in turn nearly gave Roxas numerous heart attacks.

The area at the top of the slopes was filled with scattered groups of vacationers, and a little distance off was a smallish building; some sort of information centre. Apparently that was where they were to meet their ski instructor, because Sora headed right over, cantering along as cheerily as he could. It ended up being a mismatched sort of trollop, though, due to the large snowboard he was holding, and the loose, clumpy snow that impeded quick movement.

A bell rang overhead as they entered through the double doors, and a cheery assistant was quick to help set them up with a ski instructor. As directed, they went back outside to wait to meet up with whoever was to be sent to them, but it didn't take long for a disaster to occur.

"Well holy shit, Chicken Wuss? How the hell did you get all the way out here?"

Pure, unadulterated panic swept through Roxas and he froze in place at the sound of that voice. At his side, however, Hayner was quick to face their new arrival, bristling in anger.

"_Seifer_!" the blonde hissed. "What the hell, man! Get out of here! Isn't it enough that you have to harass us at school, do you have to follow us all the way into the mountains to inflict us with your stupidity too?"

Seifer sneered. "Witty as ever, Hay-Hay." Hayner fumed at the condescending use of such a degradingly cutsie nickname. Seifer was pleased with this reaction, and huffed scathingly before turning his attention elsewhere.

"Roxie? Is that you? Followed your hotheaded little boyfriend up the mountain?"

Roxas very slowly, very carefully, turned around, keeping on constant guard. After a rather awkward run-in with Seifer that had occurred a while back (wherein the older blonde had essentially – out of nowhere, mind you – attempted to play some tonsil hockey with poor, defenseless Roxas) he had been rather leery of Seifer's intentions. Before it had been irritation and slight fear that made his encounters with the bully intimidating, now there was the constant worry that his carefully guarded purity was going to be compromised in horrible ways.

"Ah." Seifer declared with a smirk, upon getting a full view of Roxas after he had turned around fully. "So it _is_ my favourite little –"

"Knock it off, Seifer."

Eyes narrowing, Seifer's attention focused on Riku, who had been the one to cut him off. The silver haired teen was possibly one of the only people Seifer didn't mess with, simply because Riku was not only popular and admired around their school, but because he was also one of the only people willing and able to take Seifer in a fight. The blonde bully had found that out the hard way after picking on Sora just a little too much one day after school, and although fisticuffs had not actually been exchanged, the intention was clear. Strangely enough, despite his own personal history of being at the receiving end of Seifer's malice, Sora didn't have much of a problem with Seifer, other than thinking he was a bit of a jerk.

Riku, though, still held out an unspoken grudge against Seifer, and upon realizing that the silver haired male was there, the blonde's mood instantly turned from snarky and taunting to contemptuous and on-guard.

"So the whole gang's here." He sneered, casting a sidelong glance at Sora, who was wearing a disgruntled pout. "Well isn't that just great."

"You know what would be really great?" Hayner asked, glaring. "If you would piss the hell off. Right off the _mountain_ even."

Seifer rolled his eyes. "Well you know, as much as I'd _love_ to acquiesce your little request, I don't think I'm allowed to throw myself off mountains while on the job."

"What job? Who in their right mind would hire _you_?" Hayner spat. Seifer threw him a haughty grin before doing a careful once over of Roxas.

'_Oh ew. Eeeeeeeew! Ew ew EW! So much no!'_ Roxas's brain screamed.

"Oh I dunno, how about the fucking _ski resort_, maybe?" Seifer scoffed, ruffling himself up importantly. "And I'm actually on the job right now, my little chickens, so if you'll just scurry off, this is where I'm supposed to be meeting some newbies who wanna hit the slopes. Shoo."

"God, shut up Seifer, we don't have to go anywhere!" Hayner retorted.

"Yeah, we're supposed to meet someone here too!" Sora put in, the first time he had spoken up since Seifer had arrived. "Someone named Mr… uh… oh boy."

"What, Mr. who? Who are we supposed to be meeting?" Hayner questioned, grabbing at the paper. A hardened glare solidified itself into his features as he read the name, and Roxas's stomache twisted uncomfortably as two and two started to come together.

'_Please don't let Seifer be our instructor, please don't let Seifer be our instructor…'_ Roxas mentally chanted.

But the gods of irony smiled upon Roxas, and yea was he blessed with Seifer as their appointed instructor. The blonde bully nearly busted a gut with all the pleasure he took at the situation.

"Soooooo my little chickens, what shall I do first, with my newly appointed power?"

"Oh I'll_tell_ you what you can do!" Hayner spat.

"You know what?" Seifer began, smiling at Hayner in a devious way. "I'm getting a little tired of your mouth. Why don't we give your yapper a rest and settle this on the slopes, shall we?"

A glint of challenge shone dangerously in Hayner's brown eyes, borne of his competitive edge. Urgh, he was practically getting off to this, Roxas observed.

"Oh, you are SO on!" the darker-blonde responded, rising to the challenge. "First one to the bottom of the mountain with all of their appendages intact?"

"Agreed." Seifer sneered, accepting the terms. He turned to look at Riku, and Sora. "You little chickies gonna be alright all on your lonesome?"

"We'll be fine." Riku assured him, rolling his eyes.

"Alright then." Seifer grinned, looking dangerous. He threw a parting glance to Roxas, winking, before clipping himself onto his board and throwing himself down the slope, Hayner shouting and cursing indignantly at the older male's head start as he hurried to clip in and follow after him.

"Well then." Riku stated, as soon as the two ready-for-action blondes were out of sight. "I know the best slopes to start on, why don't we head over to them? I think we can get by without an instructor. It hasn't been _that_ long since I was here last."

"Okay!" Sora chirruped, adjusting his grip on the heavy snow sporting gear in his arms.

Roxas thought the situation over. On the one hand, he didn't doubt that Riku knew what he was doing, even though a proper instructor would have been preferable. On the other hand… Roxas was pretty sure that Sora was going to suck out all of the instruction and guidance that Riku could possibly have to offer, leaving the blonde high and dry. Figuratively speaking, of course. _Literally_ speaking, he would most likely be _down_ and _wet_ due to the fact that he had never tried winter sports before, and was operating under the assumption that until he got the hang of it, a lot of his time would be spent face-down in the slushy snow. And something told him Riku would be too busy handling the Sora situation to give him a hand up, or any sort of pointers to keep him from going down in the first place.

"Uh… you guys go ahead." He told them. "I think I'm going to ask for another instructor."

Without waiting for a response, Roxas huffily trudged back to the little building, where he was quick to request another instructor. Told that an instructor would meet him right out back, Roxas nodded heading out through the front doors and around the building. When he got there, though, he was met with a most unexpected (although by now he should have figured something like this would happen) surprise.

"Oh you have got to be kidding me."

Jerking to attention, the individual who had been leaning against the wall turned to see who had spoken. "Roxas?"

"Hey Axel." The blonde grumbled, unable to believe his luck.

"Hey." Axel returned, looking pleased but a little confused. "What are you doing here? They sent me out back to meet with some kid who wanted an instructor and –"

"Yeah, that'd be me." Roxas grudgingly admitted.

"Really?" Axel grinned, and Roxas was none too thrilled with the amount of glee the redhead was exuding.

"Yeah. Really."

"Aw, come on, Roxie!" Axel began, seeming to have gotten over the initial awkwardness pretty fast. "It's not that bad! At least you didn't get Larxene!"

Axel pointed, and Roxas turned in the indicated direction, seeing a testy blonde girl snapping the ski pole of a young child in half. The child began wailing piteously, and in that moment, yes, Roxas _was_ very glad he got Axel rather than Larxene.

"So what did you want help with?" the redhead eagerly asked, grabbing his gear. Roxas noticed that the Axel had skis rather than a snowboard, and had trouble picturing the spastic male doing anything that required as much race and coordination as _skiing_.

"Uh… I've never been to the snow before."

"Ah." Axel responded. "Uh, okay then, we'll start with the basics."

As Axel proceeded to instruct him on the proper way to put on his gear, Roxas was blown away by how… how _normal_ Axel was being. Sure, the redhead was still rather annoyingly quirky, but he wasn't going out of his way to annoy Roxas like he had in his past. It made Roxas a little annoyed, almost. He nearly wanted to smack Axel around and ask him who he was, and what he had done with the obnoxious redhead from over the summer.

"…and so that's basically it." Axel was finishing up. "You ready to go?"

For a moment Roxas didn't answer, looking Axel over to figure out what had changed. When no answer made itself clear he zipped his jacket up further, preparing for the onslaught of cold that snowboarding down a mountain would certainly bring forth.

"Yeah, I'm ready."

Shoving his skis on, Axel grabbed his poles from where they had been leaning against the wall. "Try to keep up."

"What!?" Roxas cried out, aghast. Axel hadn't even given him any proper instruction on how he was supposed to handle his board! But Roxas was a quick learner. He was fairly good at skateboarding, so snowboarding shouldn't be too different, right? Pushing off, he found that he could easily glide along top of the snow…

… until he hit the tiniest little bump.

"ARGH!"

Spluttering as his face hit the cold, wet snow, Roxas feebly tried to push himself back up, awkwardly working around the fact that he couldn't use his legs properly, seeing as they were attached to a great big, clunky board.

And then he heard laughter.

"Axel you bastard!" he growled. "You didn't tell me how I was supposed to use this stupid thing!"

"Aw, but Roxie! Figuring it out's half the fun!"

Grunting and struggling, Roxas managed to get back to his feet. "It's not fun when I'm munching snow." He grumbled. Axel laughed, moving to his side.

Grabbing Roxas under his arms, he moved the blonde around until he had him positioned in the correct manner. "This is how you need to stand on the board." He instructed. "Keep your balance, and keep your knees bent so that you have some maneuverability."

Roxas's heart sped up at the close contact. He hadn't had anyone so close to him, touching him, since… well, since the last time he had been around Axel. Nervous butterflies surfaced in his stomache at Axel's weight and warmth pressed against his back, and he did his best to quell them.

"By the way, Roxie." Axel commented. "I notice you've gained control of that girly squeal of yours."

"AXEL!"

This time when Axel took off, Roxas was able to follow him for more than a few feet. He still wasn't able to go very fast, or control his maneuverability very well, but at least he was able to keep up. Then again, he did have the sneaking suspicion that Axel was going easy on him.

For a few hours Roxas learned the basics of how to snowboard under the not-so-helpful guidance of Axel. Despite the slightly awkward air between them, borne of a long, unexplained absence from seeing eachother, they had a relatively good time. Axel could still be as annoying as hell, but… apparently Roxas had forgotten that once that particular trait was gotten past, the redhead was actually bearable to be around, and Roxas grudgingly admitted that he liked being around him, for whatever reason.

In fact, Roxas ended up spending the majority of the day with Axel.

"Aren't your friends going to miss you?" Axel asked at one point.

"They're fine." Roxas had quickly retorted, before proceeding to take off down the hill, intent on practicing his control of his board.

By the end of the day, Roxas was very sore from all of the falling down he had been doing, combined with the exertion of muscles he didn't normally use. Parting ways with Axel, he made his way back to Riku's cabin as soon as it started getting dark. To his surprise, everyone else was already home as well, eating dinner and looking tired from a long day on the slopes, but still in high spirits.

"Roxas!" Sora greeted, for once too tired to get up and give him a proper Sora huggle greeting. "Did you have a good time snowboarding?"

"Yeah." Roxas noncommittally responded as he sat down at the table, grabbing a plate and digging in. "It was pretty cool." He then turned his attention to the other blonde at the table. "How was dealing with Seifer?"

"That dickwad." Hayner remarked, but he was grinning. "I was a little out of practice, but I still gave him a good run for his money. I'm gonna meet up with him again tomorrow morning for a rematch, and this time I'm gonna kick his ass!"

"You're meeting up with him _again_?" Riku asked, raising a perfect silver eyebrow.

"Of your own free will?" Roxas added.

"Hell yeah." Hayner replied, still with that stupid grin on his face, but his brows were drawn together in a way that suggested his grin was of the malicious sort. "He might be a complete jerk, but he's fucking good competition. Gets a real adrenalin rush going, you know?"

"You totally get off to competing with Seifer, is what it sounds like." Riku observed. Hayner made a face while denying the accusation, and Roxas internally cringed.

"I'm heading to bed." He announced. "Have fun talking about getting off to Seifer, you freaks."

Squabble broke out at his parting words, and Roxas could hear the clamor the whole time he was heading upstairs, up until he got into his and Hayner's shared room and closed the door behind him. Quickly shucking off his clothes, he climbed into bed and let out a deep sigh.

It had been a_ long_ day.

And it had been spent entirely with _Axel_ of all people.

And Roxas… he'd had a really good time.

Crap.

It was happening all over again, wasn't it?

**-o-**

**.x.x. .o.O.o. .x.x.**

WHOO! Chapter two! And first things first, let me just say a great big AHFJHDFHDKHDFS THANK YOU FOR THE FEEDBACK! Crap and a half, man! Twenty-something reviews for just the first chapter? I love you guys SOOOOO much! Your support and comments mean the world to me, really!

That said, I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Some of the drama and plot points for this story have been introduced, and I got to play around with all the characters some more! I'm really having a great time writing this, and here's to hoping you guys are having a good time reading it!


	3. Confusion and Coincidences

**.o.O.o.**

I own nothing! Please don't sue me!

For additional warnings, disclaimers, and summary, see the first chapter!

**.x.x.x.**

_I wasn't man enough to let you hurt my pride  
Now I'm only left with my own jealousy_

"Jealousy" - Queen

**.o.O.o.**

**Fool Me Twice…**

**Confusion and Coincidences**

**-o-**

The next morning Roxas opted out of getting up at the crack of dawn and heading off into the snow with Sora and Riku. The energetic brunette had come lolloping into the room at five thirty in the morning, flopping into the bed with Hayner and Roxas and urging them to watch the sunrise with him, but when he got no more response than murderous grumbles he left them to their sleep.

The next time Roxas woke up it was at a far more decent hour, somewhere in the ten o'clock time range. Hayner was already gone, which surprised Roxas. Usually the boisterous blonde loved nothing more than to sleep in to the early afternoon if given the opportunity, but apparently his competitive streak trumped that particular inclination. Roxas was sure if Hayner saw even half a chance to kick Seifer's ass into the dust… er, _snow_, that there would be nothing that could stand in his way.

Pushing out of bed and taking advantage of the fact that he had the whole house to himself, Roxas took a long, warm shower, before trudging downstairs and fixing himself a simple breakfast of cereal in a bowl with milk. That was about as fancy as he trusted himself to get in someone else's kitchen, and frankly, he was too darn lazy to attempt anything more elaborate that would actually require him to exert some energy.

'_Sooooo…'_ Roxas thought to himself, scanning the downstairs area after he had finished his breakfast. _'I've got the house all to myself. What to do…'_

Five hours later found Roxas sitting on his butt in front of the widescreen television, some drama or reality show of some sort unfolding before him. Slouched down in the plush white couch, Roxas was quite physically comfy, but he was becoming mentally restless. Figuring that he could sit around and watch TV anytime he wanted at home (albeit on a much smaller screen, and not while seated on a couch that came close in comparison to this one, comfort-wise), Roxas flipped the idiotbox off, slipping into heavier clothing and big, clunky snowboots.

Stepping out into the cold, Roxas pulled his hood around his face as he trudged down to the ski lodge, intent on finding something to do other than just sitting around in Riku's cabin all day.

And what do you know, as soon as he stepped inside, entering the main sitting room across from the café, who should be on duty but _Axel_. Well then. It looked like his first not-sitting-on-his-butt-in-the-cabin activity would be making himself as inconspicuous as possible, as _fast_ as possible.

Ducking behind a display rack, Roxas peered through the slats, hoping Axel hadn't spotted him. It appeared as though he hadn't, thankfully, since the elder male continued about his business, unaware of the presence of a certain blonde. The certain blonde in question was surprised that Axel's "Roxas sensors" hadn't gone off and given him away. But no, Axel was calmly doing his work; making drinks and serving customers. Roxas settled for observing him; seeing him in his natural habitat, as it were.

Spying a small table in an out-of-the-way corner of the room, Roxas slunk over, making sure to keep from being spotted by Axel. From his new position he could more easily observe the redhead, and he didn't look so suspicious.

Axel looked… well he looked like Axel. Which wasn't a huge surprise. Roxas watched him hand over a steaming, frothing drink to a customer, grinning in a winning manner. The guy could be charming when he tried, Roxas reluctantly admitted.

Maybe it had just been too long since he had seen Axel, but when he was away from the lanky teen he always forgot about the good points that he had. It was so easy to pick out the annoying things, or the embarrassing things, since they were the most obvious attributes, but towards the end of last summer's camping trip he had started to see the good points too. Roxas suddenly felt bad for cutting Axel out of his life, as necessary as it had seemed. He just… he didn't want anyone looking at them funny, and Axel always insisted on drawing so much_attention_ to himself…

Sudden laughter broke out behind the café counter, and Roxas broke out of his thoughts to concentrate on what was going on. Someone who appeared to be a co-worker was shoving Axel playfully, joking around about something or another. Axel returned the verbal banter, swatting at the other male in a familiar manner.

Roxas curiously observed the scene. The coworker was someone Roxas didn't recognize, someone he was pretty sure he had never seen before. Possibly another one of Axel's friends, perhaps? The guy was short, and had golden blonde hair that fluffed up into spikes near the front, but from the angle he was standing at Roxas couldn't tell much more.

It was a slow time of day for the common lodge, with most of the ski resort's visitors being out on the slopes or in the privacy of their own cabins, so the sitting room and café were relatively empty. Roxas again worried that he was going to be seen lurking suspiciously in the corner, but it seemed as though Axel and the blonde kid were too busy palling around to notice. Roxas actually felt a little indignant at the thought. Before, if he'd been within a mile radius of the redhead, somehow Axel had been able to sense that Roxas was there, and had then made sure to go out of his way to bother him.

But now it was like Roxas was a fly on the wall as he passively observed the antics that were taking place between the two, apparently, friends. He should have been glad for the anonymity, but for some reason it irked him. In a childish way, he wanted the attention.

The blonde behind the counter elbowed Axel in his side, pointing to something outside of Roxas's range of vision as he leaned up, cupping a hand and whispering into Axel's ear. Axel looked confused for a minute before he apparently got what was so funny, and then he laughed. Roxas shifted uncomfortably in his seat. He felt a little like he was overstepping his boundaries and trespassing into Axel's privacy, but at the same time he couldn't help it. And besides, how many times had Axel prodded and pried his way into Roxas's personal business? Yes, Roxas definitely had a few free passes of his own when it came to budging into Axel's affairs. He was simply cashing them in, was all.

The more he watched the two, the more he realized how chummy they were together. Although the other blonde seemed to be a little more reserved than Axel, they were completely relaxed and open with eachother. Axel and the co-worker/possible friend seemed to be having a grand old time on the job. Roxas huffed in irritation. Geesh, wasn't Axel supposed to be _working_? Not chatting it up with some random kid who shared his counter space.

After a while, Axel glanced up at the clock, said something to the blonde, who nodded, and then he walked off, still wearing his apron. At first Roxas was confused as to why Axel could just up and leave on the job, before he realized that it was probably time for a break. Deciding to take advantage of this golden opportunity, Roxas swept in to action, pushing his chair back and carefully making his way over to the café.

"Hey." the blonde greeted as he noticed Roxas heading over. "How can I help you?"

Roxas stopped dead in his tracks. Something was _really_ wrong here. Roxas was… he was pretty sure he was staring at a long lost twin. People had always made comments about him and _Sora_ looking alike (which Roxas had adamantly refused to acknowledge. Sora had brown hair and bigger, eyes that were a slightly deeper blue, and a personality that could stop a charging rhino in his tracks. Yep. No similarities at all.) but this new kid…

It was almost like staring into a mirror.

The freakishly similar blonde shifted uncomfortably, also seeming to notice the strangeness of the situation, but trying to play it off. "Uh… can I get you something?"

"Yeah, hi." Roxas distractedly replied. "Can I have a, uh…" He scanned the menu, picking a random drink to order. The other blonde set to work, quietly humming to himself as he fixed Roxas's drink. When it was completed he set it in front of Roxas.

"That'll be $5.50." He said, and Roxas rummaged through his pockets, trying to come up with the money. His eyes landed on the guy's nametag.

"Ven." He muttered, making a mental note of it.

"Yes?"

Crap, Roxas needed to learn to either keep his thoughts inside his head, or mutter more inconspicuously. "Uh, that's just an interesting name." Roxas covered as he handed over the crinkled dollar bills. "I've never heard it before."

"Uh… thanks." Ven replied, sorting out the money. "I've had it all my life, and I'm rather fond of it, myself."

This guy was way too unruffled, Roxas decided. It was one thing to be obliviously cheerful all the time, like Sora, or even obnoxiously chaotic like Axel, but this whole… 'I'm just gonna take whatever comes my way, even a freaky coincidence look-alike kid, and just do my job and serve hot drinks' attitude annoyed him to no end. Roxas did not approve.

"Here's your change, would you like your receipt?" Ven was asking.

"Uh, no." Roxas replied, distracted by his annoyance. "You can keep it."

"Alright then. Have a nice day." Ven said, by way of parting.

"Yeah, sure." Roxas grumbled, taking his drink and heading back to his little sulking table in the corner. Who did that guy think he was, being so… so… urgh! No wonder he and Axel got on so well. Their freakishly weird personalities were perfectly suited for eachother, what with Roxas's hurricane to Ven's battened hatches. Compatibility had never been so weird before.

Soon enough, the aforementioned redhead returned from his break, and (as expected) he and Ven went back to horsing around. The kid certainly wasn't as enthusiastic as Axel, but he seemed to know how to lighten up and have a good time. _'Just do your job!'_ Roxas's brain chastised, and he took an angry gulp of his drink, gagging on some froth. Stupid froth. Roxas _hated_ froth. Especially froth created by freaky clone kids.

For a while longer Roxas continued to watch after the events unfolding behind the café counter, and the more he watched the more irritated he became. He had held a job over the summer, and he had _certainly_ never had this much fun doing it. All the horsing around, all of the downtime during the afternoon lull… Roxas was extremely bitter towards Axel and Ven. But mostly just Ven. Something about the other blonde irked him, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it. Well, besides the fact that the kid had pretty much stolen his face.

Before long, Axel's "I'm going to be annoying" setting kicked in, and Ven smirkingly pushed him away as the redhead attempted prodding at him, trying to be as bothersome as possible. Swatting and laughing took place, and other than the playful manner in the actions, it sort of reminded him of when _he_ and Axel had just met, when the older teen had been trying to do some weird sort of version of… of flirting… with… him…

OH GOD! Had Roxas been _replaced_!?

Watching the two easily banter and jostle eachother, it seemed as though that indeed might have been the case.

"HEY ROXAS!" an unnecessarily loud and enthusiastic voice suddenly called out. "There you are! Me and Riku have been looking all over for you!"

Well there went his cover.

Glaring at Sora and his poor sense of timing and discretion, Roxas refused to welcome the pair to his table. Nevertheless, Sora and Riku pulled some chairs up, shaking some snow off of their jackets.

"Roxas it was great, we've been out in the snow all day, making forts and snowmen and stuff! You totally should have come, it's been so fun! Have you been here for very long?"

"No." Roxas lied.

"Oh. Well, me and Riku just wanted to get some hot drinks, and then we were gonna play in the snow a little more, and then we were thinking about heading to the pools. Did you know the resort has its very own hot springs? Oh, hi Axel!"

Whipping his head around, Roxas saw Axel and Ven approaching their table. Oh well great. This was just spiffy. Roxas only _just_ realized that he might be having some jealousy issues over Axel, and the idiot has to strut right on over, look-alike blonde in tow. Touché, world. Touché.

"Hey guys." Axel and Ven pulled a few more chairs around the already crowded little table, and Roxas noticed that Ven was just a _liiiiittle_ too close to the redhead for his taste. "My shift is over, and Ven's on break, so we figured we'd join you."

"Oh my gosh, you look just like Roxas!" Sora delightedly gasped. "Roxas, isn't that totally cool?"

Roxas silently fumed. He couldn't believe his luck. First he pushed Axel away, and then_ just_ as soon as he realizes that maybe he wants him back, Ven tromps into the picture and messes everything up. Sora and Riku took to Ven pretty well, and light conversation drifted around the table. Roxas folded his arms over his chest. This was _so_ not how he imagined this vacation going. Damn Sora never being able to produce anything but failure vacations!

"… so anyways, we're going to head back out, but it was nice meeting you, Ven! Seeya later, Axel!" Sora was saying, and Roxas clung to his words like a drowning man. Salvation! Going out with Sora and Riku to play in the snow was not his ideal plan for escape, but it would have to do. Following after them as they headed back into the snow, Roxas looked back once more before exiting the building, and Axel caught his eye, giving him a small wave. Roxas blinked, turning and walking out without returning it.

As it turned out, playing in the snow ended up being exactly as childish as it sounded. Sora chucked snowballs at the back of Roxas's head every time he turned his back to the brunette, and even Riku tossed a few clumps of wet snow his way. Roxas ended up digging himself a fort just to put up a guard between himself and the annoying thunk of snow to his cranium.

Sora insisted on staying out until it started getting dark, at which point he abruptly switched tactics and _demanded_ that they go change into their swimsuits so that they could go to the pools. It was extremely tedious to go get out of multiple layers of clothes just to put one article of clothing on, and then put all of the wet layers of clothing from before _back_ on, but Roxas figured that it might be worth it. Hot springs sounded like a _really_ good idea right about now. After all, there was nothing like warm water and steam to relax you and make you forget all of your troubles.

It turned out the springs were not right in the centre of the resort, and were actually in fact quite out of the way to get to. By the time they got there, it was almost completely dark. As soon as they arrived, Sora was quick to shuck off his clothes and jump in the water of the largest pool. Riku went after him, but Roxas took a little more time to observe his surroundings.

In the center area there was a large pool with a naturally shaped basin. That was the one Sora had flung himself into. The water looked slightly discolored, and Roxas was a little repulsed until he remembered that it was a _natural_ spring, and therefore the minerals in the water were what accounted for it. A hose was draining into the pool, presumably adding in some cold water to get it to a more neutral temperature.

Splashing happily, Sora swam around in the water. Riku lounged on the side, looking utterly content with just _sitting_ after a long day of running around after the energetic brunette.

"Come on, Roxas, get in!" Sora called out, waving.

Deciding he might as well do just that, Roxas hurriedly stripped down to his swim trunks. 'Hurriedly' because he wanted to avoid spending any more time than absolutely necessary out in the cold air, not because he was in any rush to join Sora.

Slipping in to the water, Roxas was pleased to discover that the temperature's balance was leaning heavily in favour of warmth. A few others besides they three were in the pool, but Sora was by far the loudest and most exuberant. After a while, Riku voiced the suggestion that they head to one of the vacated hot springs. Roxas inwardly thanked whatever higher being existed for the suggestion, knowing that the warm water would sooth Sora down, making him calmer and less boisterous.

Quickly padding across the stone-tiled ground with wet feet, the three boys shivered their way over to a hot spring, gratefully collapsing in to its almost-too-hot depths. Sora immediately sunk down and submerged himself until only about half of his face was left out. Blowing bubbles, Sora drifted over to Riku's side, settling against him and letting his eyelids slide shut over his bright blue eyes.

"So what did you do all day?" Riku asked Roxas, fixing him with a smuggish smirk. "Sit around in the lodge stalking Axel?"

"I did no such thing." Roxas defended. Or lied, rather. Actually… it wasn't a_total_ lie. He _had_ spent a good portion of the day sitting on his butt watching television, after all.

"Riku, I'm sore." Sora informed his friend, pulling his face out of the water and looking pleadingly up at the older male. With a sigh and friendly roll of the eyes, Riku shifted to a position that allowed him to give Sora a shoulder rub. The younger male purred happily, keening into the touch. Roxas awkwardly shifted in his seat on the ring of bench that ran around the spring, feeling a bit as though he was intruding upon a private moment. It wasn't as though Sora and Riku were doing anything outrageously personal with eachother, but their entire friendship had such an unspoken intimacy to it that Roxas always felt a little intrusive when he was alone with just the two of them.

"Well look who's here!"

All three hot-tubbing males turned around at the voice, spotting Axel and Demyx heading their way.

"Hi guys!" Sora returned, not moving away from Riku's touch.

Not even bothering to ask if they could join, Axel and Demyx set down their clothes into piles near the ledge of the pool and slid in to the water, wincing a bit at the heat. Sighing, Axel propped his elbows up on the pool ledge, tilting his head back to rest on the cold stone behind him. Roxas involuntarily found himself riveted to the curve of the redhead's neck, unable to look away.

Demyx bounced in his seat, happy to see everyone again. "Hey guys, have you been having a fun trip? I went tobogganing with Larx and Marly today and it was pretty cool!"

"Where are those guys?" Axel commented. "I thought they were going to join us."

"I dunno, it's Larxene and Marluxia." Demyx pointed out with a shrug. "Who _knows_ what shenanigans they're getting into."

Roxas highly doubted that whatever those two were getting up to could be innocent enough to be called "shenanigans". Pillaging and plundering seemed like a more accurate description. Roxas admitted to not knowing either of them terribly well, but they freaked the hell out of him.

"So I never quite knew for sure…" Riku started, looking contemplative. "Are those two shagging, or…?"

"More like partners in crime." Axel supplied, sitting back up. "Or actually, I don't know, maybe they _are_ shagging. I always thought Marluxia was fruitier than a bag of Trix cereal, but honestly, I have no idea what those freaks do when no one else is around. Them in public is bad enough."

Everyone was nodding in agreement when a muted ringing issued forth from Demyx's clothes pile. The sandy haired teen lunged for it, creating a gigantic splash that hit everyone else in the small pool. It hit Roxas straight in the face, and he winced, resisting the urge to let out a war cry and strangle Demyx. Just barely, but he resisted.

Roxas _hated_ being splashed. Especially in the face. _'Demyx, you better watch out.'_ He mentally threatened. _'One more wrong move will be just enough to get you on__** my list**__.'_

Before Roxas could elaborate further on his 'list' (whatever _that_ was. Roxas didn't quite know himself, but damnit if it didn't _sound_ threatening) Demyx let out a happy squeal upon seeing the name flashing on his phone's screen.

"Zexion!" he happily greeted, flipping the phone open to talk to the scheming male who was absent from their vacationing. "I'm so glad you called, I've been thinking about you all day!"

Exiting the spring and throwing a big, fluffy towel around himself to fend off the cold, Demyx wandered off to find a more private place to continue his conversation with Zexion.

"He won't be back." Axel commented, watching his friend go.

Roxas wondered how someone like Zexion could ever put up with someone with Demyx's personality, but he figured it wasn't worth the headache of trying to figure it out. And besides, stranger things had probably happened.

Like maybe the dynamics between a certain crazy redhead and a certain sullen blonde, for example.

"It's getting kind of hot in here…" Sora commented, looking rejuvenated after Riku's massaging. "Who wants to go skinnydipping in the ice water!?"

Roxas looked at where Sora was pointing, and saw, to his horror, another pool that he hadn't noticed before. Unlike the others, which had their water sources coming from the ground, this pool was man made at its base, with a waterfall coming straight down the mountain. Barely melted snow served as the water source for this pool, and Roxas was certain that it was maybe half a degree above freezing, at best.

"I don't think so." Roxas replied.

"Pleeeeease?" Sora begged. "We've never gone skinnydipping in freezing ice water before!" Roxas sighed at the reasoning, exasperated.

"Why would we_want_ to do that?"

"Because it'd be an exciting new experience!"

"Sora, why are you always trying to get naked?"

"Because it's fun!" the brunette clipped back. "And I'm going whether you guys are coming or not!"

And with that Sora stood, ungracefully exited the hot spring, and pattered over to the ice water, shucking his swimtrunks off and plopping in. The water's temperature must have shocked him – despite the fact that Roxas could literally _see_ it pouring straight down from the mountain and there was no way Sora could have not known it would be freezing – and he let out a rather surprised little wail.

Riku sighed, watching the spectacle unfold. "I better go get him." He said. "Make sure he doesn't die or something."

"Or get arrested for public indecency." Axel helpfully put in.

Riku shrugged as he got out of the water. "They're private springs, and traditionally you go into springs without wearing anything. I don't really think that's an issue. Besides, even if it was, no one else is still here but us."

Roxas glanced around as Riku walked off, finding this to be true. Everyone else had left, so their gathering of mismatched friends made up the entire hot springs congregation. And currently, he and Axel were the only people left in the hot spring that had previously held Sora, Riku and Demyx as well.

"So." Axel began, sliding on over. "Did you have a nice day with Thing One and Thing Two?"

"Uh, yeah. I guess." Roxas returned, trying to inconspicuously put some more distance between himself and Axel. But the redhead was undeterred, and slid on in until he was right next to Roxas, their thighs almost touching.

Axel said something else, but Roxas didn't register it with his mind whirling in a million different directions. He had been through this dilemma before, with trying to figure out his feelings for Axel. At the time the results had come up with a grudging 'yes, I _do_ hold some affection for the annoying freak for God knows what reason.' But then he had realized that it was too much for him to deal with, in the public eye, and he had shoved those feelings as far away as he could.

But now… now Axel was here again, so close, and even though he was still annoying, he wasn't really _doing_ anything. Not making advances like he had before, and Roxas was thrown off. It was like an internal volcano waiting to go off. WHY WASN'T AXEL DOING ANYTHING!? He tried to tell himself that he was just suspicious, that it wasn't like he_wanted_ Axel to come on to him or anything… but the nervous butterflies of anticipation swirling around in his stomache proved otherwise.

"Roxas…? Roxas, are you even listening to me? Helloooooo, earth to Roxas!"

"What?" snapping back to the present, Roxas finally registered that Axel was still trying to talk to him.

"Geeze, Roxie." Axel snickered. "What's got you so distracted? Water got you all hot and bothered? Find some snow bunny out on the slopes today that you just can't stop fantasizing about?"

"…what?" Roxas replied again, confused by Axel's tactic but suddenly coming out of his daze. "No, what the hell, there's no chick. But what the fuck is up with you, Axel?"

"Me?" Axel replied, and he looked and sounded genuinely confused.

"Yes you!" Roxas snapped. "You're acting funny!"

Axel eyed him suspiciously. "Rox, you feeling okay? I mean, it's been a while since I've really hung out with you too much, but – Mmmph!"

Roxas surged forward, capturing Axel's lips. He was sick and tired of Axel dancing around the issue, and damn it he was going to do something about it! He wanted their old dynamics back, even if he had been the one to attempt to get rid of them in the first place.

Axel seemed momentarily confused, and he tried to pull back to look at Roxas, but Roxas shook his head in the negative, going back in to initiate another kiss. He was sick of thinking and analyzing, he just wanted to _do this_ and maybe things would start to make a little more sense in his confused brain. Action over analysis; that was Roxas's motto for his preferred way of dealing with what life threw his way.

Shifting, Roxas moved closer, nearly straddling the redhead's waist. Axel brought his hand up in surprise, and ended up letting it drop to rest on Roxas's hip. _'There we go!'_ Roxas's brain cheered, pleased to get a positive reaction from the redhead. He matched Axel's movement, settling his own palm against the elder male's chest. Axel squirmed a little, pressing the slightest bit more into their liplock.

Roxas took this as a sign to continue pressing onwards with their little interlude. Moving to fully straddle Axel's waist – although not setting down or applying any pressure – Roxas was able to get a more comfortable angle for kissing, and he tilted his head accordingly, parting his lips. Axel made a small sound in the back of his throat, eagerly keeping up with Roxas's initiative. Dragging his palms up Axel's chest, feeling the muscles tensing at the contact, Roxas slid his fingers into Axel's wet red spikes.

Letting out a content sigh into the kiss, Roxas gripped lightly at the locks of hair in his grasp. It felt like _forever_ since he had done this last, and Roxas honestly hadn't realized how much he had missed it. He scooted closer, wrapping his arms around Axel's neck. Their chests bumped lightly, and water-slick skin slid together wonderfully. Roxas ran his tongue along the seam of Axel's lips, and was a bit taken aback when the taller boy eagerly reciprocated, slipping his own tongue into Roxas's mouth and doing a thorough sweep of the moist cavern.

The heat from the hot spring was starting to go to Roxas's head, turning everything into a fuzzy haze. Everything was so wet and so overwhelming and happening so fast. Roxas had only acted on a spur of the moment impulse to distract himself from his obsessing over figuring out what was up with the dynamics between Axel and himself. But now he found himself in the middle of a heady makeout session, and even though he had been the one to initiate it, he was having a bit of trouble keeping up with the flow. It was like all of the weeks and months of not seeing eachother had been building up, unspoken, and now it was all being released in a flood of emotions and physical displays.

Axel's hand crawled into the damp hair at the base of Roxas's neck, fingers tangling and tugging gently. Roxas became lightheaded at the sensation, and he found his strength giving out on him. Legs weakening, Roxas collapsed into Axel's lap, plopping down rather suddenly and causing ripples of water to swirl away from him.

At the sudden added weight onto a rather sensitive area of his anatomy, Axel's back arched, and the grip he had in Roxas's hair tightened. Roxas held a growl back, throat constricting, and he out of the kiss a fraction of an inch, taking in a breath. Axel immediately went to work on the blonde's neck with his lips and occasional scrapes of teeth, and Roxas scrunched his eyes closed.

Well then. It appeared as though _someone_ was rather eager to keep at this.

What Roxas_couldn't_ figure out was why Axel had been holding himself back until that point. Roxas had been the one who had to kick start their current… engagements. But usually it was Axel who was pushing for this type of thing. Why hadn't he done so this time around? It wasn't as though he had ever asked for Roxas's permission any of the previous times, after all.

Axel's zeal was starting to make itself known, though, and Roxas floundered to keep up. The redhead slid his arms up Roxas's bare back, lightly scraping his nails along the skin. Roxas hissed, arching his back and pressing closer to Axel. This felt… good. Really good, actually. And comfortingly familiar. Like something Roxas had been missing out on for far too long, but that he hadn't even realized had gotten misplaced.

Vaguely, Roxas felt his reasoning slipping away as Axel pulled him closer, tentatively shifting his hips upwards the slightest bit. With an embarrassed blush, Roxas realized that Axel's body was starting to react to their heated kissing and groping, and to his utmost mortification Roxas realized that his was responding as well.

Axel let his hands slip under the water, gently grabbing hold on Roxas's hips and guiding the smaller boy to put a little more weight down into his lap. Axel's little _problem_ became impossible to brush aside at that point, and Roxas realized that Axel's guidance was slowly but surely directing him into a slow undulation, causing their lower anatomy to press together in an achingly pleasurable way.

Breath hitching, Roxas buried his face into Axel's hair, letting the older teen set the pace for their underwater motions, bodies slipping and sliding in an embarrassingly erotic way. The liquid that surrounded them caused their movements to be fluid and smooth, and Axel had started pushing his hips up in earnest, slowly easing into a gyration that allowed for more pressure, more friction. Roxas panted, embarrassed at how Axel would be able to hear every laboured breath that he took, given that Roxas's face was right at the side of Axel's own, mere inches away from his ears.

But that potentially embarrassing situation was soon overruled by another, when Axel's lips ran along Roxas's neck in one delicate sweep, before the redhead bit carefully but forcefully into the juncture of Roxas's neck and shoulder. With a strangled gasp, Roxas threw his head back, drops of water flying out of his hair at the sudden motion. The action was surprising and unexpected, and almost a bit painful; but underlying it all was a burning pleasure, and Roxas ground his hips down into Axel's, tugging rather harshly at the damp red spikes in his grasp.

All of Roxas's receptive squirming and grabbing apparently did the trick for Axel, because he let out a low, desperate groan; his fingers tightening around Roxas's waist and digging into the sensitive hallows of the boy's hips.

In the back of Roxas's mind something was nagging at him, telling him he'd better start paying attention to what was going on before it got out of control. But he brushed it aside, bucking his hips forward, loving the pressure, the friction, the –

"Ah – Roxas…"

A deep, guttural moan accompanied Axel's reverent outburst of Roxas's name, and the blonde literally felt the _whoosh_ of reality kicking back in. He could hear Sora laughing at something Riku was talking about in the distance, and they seemed oblivious to the drama unfolding on the other side of the springs. Oh God. Axel… Axel and he… they…

They were in the middle of a public hot spring.

Nearly naked.

Writhing against eachother.

And did he mention that he was with _Axel_, in the middle of a _public hot spring_, nearly _naked_, and very surely _writhing_ in the worst of ways.

"Oh God."

Hastily standing on wobbling legs, absolutely _mortified_ by the tenting in the front of his swimtrunks, Roxas exited the naturally heated pool as quickly and gracefully as he could. He failed drastically with both endeavours when climbing out with legs that felt like jelly and a rather straining erection were slowing him down and making his motions clumsy, but he got an 'A' for effort.

"I have to go. Now. _Right_ now." He announced, pulling on his clothes as fast as he could, grimacing at how they clung most uncomfortably to his damp skin.

"What?" Axel was asking. He looked extremely confused. "Wait, Roxas… _why_?"

"I just…" Roxas refused to look Axel in the eye, fumbling with getting his snowboots on. "I just do."

And with that he left, leaving behind a very wet, very confused, and very much unsatisfied Axel.

**.o.x.O.x.o.**

The walk back to Riku's cabin was very dark and cold, but Roxas wasn't aware of it. He could only concentrate on the whirling thoughts in his head, letting his feet wander on autopilot, hoping that he would eventually end up back where he was supposed to be.

Oh God.

Oh God oh God oh God oh _God_.

He had… he had almost _done it_ in a hot spring with _Axel_. Axel! What had he been _thinking?_ No… no, he _hadn't_ been thinking, that was it. At least not with his brain. Because if he had been thinking with the right head, he _never_ would have done something like that.

…would he?

Miraculously, Roxas found himself back at Riku's cabin, and he gratefully slipped inside, using the spare key that Riku had given him. He was going to march upstairs, take off his clothes, and go to sleep. No more dwelling.

"Urgh…" Roxas groaned, ascending the stairs to his room. "I never want to think about guys or sex ever again."

Shoving the door to his room open, Roxas was completely unprepared for the sight that greeted him. He had been aware of Hayner's absence all day, and hadn't known when to expect to see him again because you could never tell how long a day of rivalry between mortal enemies was going to go, but he _certainly_ hadn't counted on being reunited with Hayner like… like _this_.

The loudmouth blonde was spread across the bed, very much declothed. Which on it's own would not have been so bad, if it weren't for the fact that one Seifer Almasy was currently sprawled over him, the angle and positioning of their bodies leaving nothing up for interpretation. So involved were the two blondes, that they didn't even notice that Roxas was standing _right there_.

Roxas's jaw went slack, and he promptly turned on his heel, exiting the room and closing the door behind him.

He was sleeping on the couch tonight.

**-o-**

**.x.x. .o.O.o. .x.x.**

Oh ho ho!! Another chapter for you, my lovies! Seems as though dear Roxas can't figure out what he wants, that poor befuddled kid! WANT and DO NOT WANT seem to be having a nice little tug of war inside his blonde little brain. XD

And hahaha, Ven. XD Thanks so much to my darling _EcoJak_ for suggesting for him to have a place in this story – he was a perfect fit for the extra character I needed! (In case you don't know who he is, like I didn't for a while, do a Google search for 'Ven from Birth By Sleep' and that should tell you what you need to know!)

Hope everyone's enjoying the ficcie, and thanks a million billion jillion for all the super awesome reviews, you guys! You're amazing, seriously! 8D


	4. Eavesdropping Kickstarts Initiative

**.o.O.o.**

I own nothing! Please don't sue me!

For additional warnings, disclaimers, and summary, see the first chapter!

**.x.x.x.**

_The type of guy who doesn't see,  
What he has until she leaves  
Don't let me go!  
Cause without me you know you're lost,  
Wise up now or pay the cost  
Soon you will know, oh! _

"Potential Breakup Song" Aly & AJ

**.o.O.o.**

**Fool Me Twice…**

**Eavesdropping Kickstarts Initiative**

**-o-**

It was too fucking bright too fucking early.

That was the first thing Roxas's brain registered, as he rolled over with a groan, trying to block out the sun's evil rays which insisted upon shining right into his face.

But rolling over turned out to be more of an undertaking than he would have imagined, and rather than being able to find a more comfortable, sun-free position, he instead found himself in a world of pain.

"OW!" Roxas yelped, immediately awake, trying to figure out why he was on the floor, feeling like his body was one giant cramp. "Ow ow ow bitch shit balls OW!"

"Morning, sunshine."

Roxas glared up at whoever was saying sappy things to him, spotting Hayner in the kitchen, poking around at some bacon that was sizzling in a pan on the stove.

Upon seeing Hayner, last night's events came flooding back to Roxas, and he groaned again, rubbing at his neck, which was sore from Roxas having slept on the couch all night. For lazing around watching television it was a fine piece of furniture, but for getting a good, full night's sleep… not so much.

Glancing to the clock affixed on the wall, Roxas discovered that it was only a little past eight in the morning.

"Hayner." He began. "Why the hell are you up so early? And why are you wearing an apron?"

Hayner flashed a guilty smile. "Well, uh, I know it looks kinda gay, but bacon splatters all over the place, you know? I don't want oil all over my clothes…"

"Mmhmm." Roxas vaguely replied, not really caring too much about the apron. Mostly he had just tacked the apron comment on to get a dig in at Hayner. Because if one of them ever saw the opportunity to make a fool out of the other on a one on one basis, that was not something to be passed up. After all, that's what best friends were for.

"Alright, but so that doesn't explain why you're up so early." Roxas persisted, refusing to let the topic drop.

"Uh…" Hayner attempted the guilty smile again, but this time it came out looking more on the guilty side than the smiley side. "Well, er, actually… Seifer spent the night here, and uh, I figured, you know… I'd make him some breakfast before his shift starts in a few hours?"

Now despite occasional evidence to the contrary, Roxas wasn't stupid. Even if he _hadn't_ walked in on the horribly compromising Seifer/Hayner rendezvous that had gone on last night between the sheets, there were still some gaping plot holes in Hayner's excuse. Why had Seifer come over in the first place? Why was he still here? Why was Hayner going out of his way to make an early breakfast for someone he supposedly hated?

But Roxas wrote it off, deciding that now was most certainly not the time to be discussing that particular issue. Obviously Seifer and Hayner's rivalry had ended up transferring over from violent competition to… violent passion. Roxas really didn't care to hear the whole messy story. In fact, he was pretty sure he wanted to be done thinking about this particular subject, period. Hadn't he just last night sworn to never think about guys or sex ever again?

Roxas became aware of the fact that an awkward silence had settled itself between him and Hayner, and he desperately wracked his mind for something to say that would clear it up. However it seemed as though all he could think about, unfortunately, was mansex. Which led to thoughts of last night. Which, in turn, led to thoughts of Axel. Irritation at thoughts surrounding Axel made him think of Ven. Stupid Ven. That guy was annoying. What made him so great anyways, huh? Did he think he and Axel had a bond or something? Pfft, what did they have in common that Roxas couldn't match up to? What would Roxas have to do to prove that he was better and more compatible to Axel than that Ven kid?

"Should I get a tattoo on my face?"

Roxas had blurted out the next thing that came to mind, and Hayner gave him a strange look.

"Uh… I dunno, man? It's your face."

Deciding that he didn't want to deal with the awkwardness any longer – which would certainly only increase once Seifer came down for breakfast – Roxas snagged a muffin and a bottle of juice from the counter, grabbing a jacket and snowpants to pull on over the clothes that he had fallen asleep in, before walking right out the door.

Intending to take a walk and clear his mind, Roxas was not expecting to be accosted the moment he got out the door.

"ROXAS!"

Looking down the hill, Roxas spied Sora, who was waving at him and beaming brightly. He had some sort of ridiculous knitted hat on, with his wild brunette spikes poking out all over the place. Riku was with him, pulling on a rope handle that was attached to some strange sort of sled that Sora was sitting on. Tracks in the snow all over the hill led Roxas to guess they had been playing out there for quite a while already. They were heading back up the hill, and Roxas shoved his hands into his pockets, walking down the hill through the crunchy snow to meet them halfway and see what they were up to.

"Hey Roxas!" Sora greeted, jumping up off of the sled to greet Roxas with a happy morning hug. "You sure are out and about early today!"

"Yeaaaah." The blonde replied. "Guess I just couldn't sleep in this morning."

Riku snickered as they continued up the hill. "Sun wake you up, or did the two lovebirds decide to go for another round?" Roxas made a face at the bluntness of Riku's comment, and Sora giggled.

"Did they keep you up last night? Me and Riku could hear them goin' at it for a looooong time. All those years of rivalry bottling up must have finally exploded and morphed into some weird sort of lust craze."

Roxas was agape at Sora's perceptiveness and utterly direct assessment of the situation. Then again, maybe it was easier to joke around and be casual when you weren't the one who had _walked in on Seifer and Hayner in the sack!_

"Anyways, we were just playing with the sled I made, isn't it awesome?" Sora informed him. Roxas was amazed at how Sora could so easily make drastic mental skips in conversation topics. Deciding to just go with it, Roxas had a look at Sora's sled.

Blue eyes immediately widening in shock, Roxas honestly didn't know what to think of Sora's 'sled'. The thing was a monstrosity. It had obviously been the unfortunate outcome of one of Sora's 'do it yourself' crafts, and it appeared as though sled building was not one of Sora's many useless talents.

Reaching the top of the hill, Sora excitedly made a grab for his sled, setting it down in the snow and clambering on. "You wanna come, Roxas? It can fit two…"

"Uh…" Roxas struggled to come up with a response that wouldn't be perceived as rude. "That's okay. You have fun, though."

Shrugging, Sora did just that, pushing off and gliding down the hill and attempting to steer his haphazard sleigh. Nearing the bottom, he lost control, steering himself right into a tree. Roxas started in concern, but Riku just rolled his eyes.

"I'm okay!" came the optimistic shout from the bottom of the hill, along with a reassuring wave.

"So you left the springs pretty early last night."

Roxas's attention snapped to the side, but Riku wasn't even looking at him. His focus remained on Sora as the boy began his struggle up the hill, and if Roxas hadn't known any better he'd almost imagine that Riku hadn't even spoken at all.

"Yeah, so what?" the blonde retorted, realizing that he sounded defensive.

Riku shrugged, finally looking at the other boy out of the corner of his eye. "Just asking. It seemed like you and Axel were doing alright, catching up or whatever, and then you just split. We were all a little confused."

"Oh. Uh, well…" Roxas nervously licked his lips. How much did Riku know? What had he seen? Oh God, what had Axel told him?!

"Look, Roxas." Riku cut in, when it became obvious that Roxas was floundering in his mind and wasn't going to offer up an explanation. "I don't know what's up with you and Axel. By the end of last summer's trip you guys seemed… friendly. Pretty close, right?"

Riku was being indirect, but in his sharp gaze it was obvious that he knew what had been going on, at least to an extent. Roxas nodded, affirming his inquiry.

"So then what happened?" Riku continued. "We all noticed that you guys didn't really hang out anymore during school, but we thought you were both just busy or something, so we didn't ask. Even Sora, and you know how hard it is for him to keep stuff in."

Roxas shifted, looking down at his feet. As much as he pretended that he felt nothing but annoyance over having to spend time with Sora and Riku… they were his friends. He felt bad to make them concerned over him.

"And now…" Riku cautiously went on. "I dunno, it's like something weird is going on with you guys. Neither of you are acting normal, Axel especially. He's… it's weird, it's almost like he's keeping himself contained. I've never seen him do that before. Care to explain what's going on?"

"Uh…"

Honestly, as much as Roxas wanted to tell Riku that it was none of his business, there was a sort of unspoken rule around with groups of friends that everyone made everyone else's business their own, and they all worked together to sort things out. Usually the dynamics were between Sora and Riku, or within Roxas's usual Hayner/Pence/Olette group, but seeing as how lately Sora had been making an attempt to bring Roxas into their happy little family…

He almost felt like he owed Riku an explanation. The elder teen wasn't being forcefully intrusive or demanding. He was just asking. Out of concern and interest in his friends. Darnit. It would be so much easier to blow him off if he was being a jerk about it!

"I dunno…" Roxas began. "It just… we drifted apart, I guess?"

Riku scrutinized the blonde, and Roxas fidgeted under his gaze.

"Do you really mean 'we', or is it more a matter of 'I'?" he asked.

Okay _now_ Roxas felt like getting a little defensive. "Look, it just didn't work out, okay? Sorry that me and Axel couldn't work out perfectly like some _other_ people, but…"

Sora quietly rejoined the little group, keeping from interjecting even though he looked very curious about what was going on. He had obviously seen that Riku and Roxas were involved in some sort of important seeming conversation as he made his way up the hill, and it was a good thing he didn't interrupt, because Roxas was pretty sure he would have gotten irritated and snapped something rude to him.

"Look, I just couldn't do it, okay?" he finished with a sigh.

"But did you tell _him_ that?" Riku pushed.

"Well…" Roxas paused. "No, but I mean it became pretty obvious, right?"

Riku raised an elegant silver eyebrow at Roxas. "You sure? Because you might wanna ask him about that. I don't think he gets what's going on with you."

"Um…" Sora suddenly spoke up, nervously fidgeting with his hands. "I'm gonna go get some hot chocolate at the lodge. I'll be back in a little bit!"

Roxas and Riku watched Sora skutter off down the slope. That kid was _fast_. He was a boy on a _mission_. Roxas couldn't think of why cocoa had suddenly become so important to him, but he had learned to not question's Sora's… way of… doing… things…

Oh crap.

"Riku, I gotta go. I, um, need something from the lodge too, I just remembered." Roxas quickly explained, already taking off.

"Uh, okay?" Riku replied, looking a little confused. "Do you want me to come with –"

"No!" Roxas shouted back, before offering up an alternate suggestion. "Go kick Seifer out of your house before he defiles it anymore than he already has."

He heard Riku's vague affirmative response, but in truth, he didn't care much _what_ Riku did at the moment. Roxas needed to track Sora down, and he needed to do it fast and without question.

At first Roxas had been perfectly content with simply watching Sora scamper off to get his cocoa, no matter how random the impulse had been, but as the gears turned and clicked in his head he had noticed that even for Sora, there was some weird behaviour on. Sora had just crept on up, listened in on Riku and Roxas's conversation about Axel, and _then_ – with a weird little look in his oh so innocent appearing blue eyes – had made up a hasty excuse to run off to the lodge.

More specifically, to the café.

Which was where_Axel_ worked.

No, this didn't sit well with Roxas at _all_. Not one bit. Sora was up to something, he just knew it!

Sora was a quick little sneak, Roxas soon discovered. Even though the brunette had only gotten about half a minute's head start, Sora was nowhere to be seen. His footprints in the snow, however, were a dead giveaway, and led Roxas right to the lodge doors. Stealthily slipping inside, Roxas glanced around, and saw Sora heading over to the café counter on the other side of the room.

Oh crap!

Just as Roxas was about to call out to Sora to get him to stop, the younger teen stopped, gasped, and made a sharp turn into the gift shop. Thank God for shiny things, diverting Sora's limited attention span! Roxas hurried after him, preparing to sidle on up to Sora and strike up a non-suspicious-but-still-information-gathering conversation when someone else beat him to the punch.

"Sora?"

Roxas quickly ducked behind a display rack as Axel appeared out of nowhere, a stack of boxes in his hands. CURSES! His plan of interception was foiled! No way could Roxas just waltz on over there _now_.

"Oh! Axel!" Sora exclaimed in surprise. "I was actually just coming to look for you – "

'_HA!'_ Roxas's brain mentally cheered in triumph at his skills of successful deduction. _'I KNEW IT, SORA, YOU LITTLE SNEAK!'_

" – but I thought you worked at the café!"

Axel raised an eyebrow in amusement. "You thought I worked at the café, so you came looking for me in the gift shop?"

The brunette looked a down with an embarrassed smile. "Well… I saw a snowglobe with glitter in it, and I just thought it would only take a minute…"

With a fond smile and a roll of his bright green eyes, Axel shifted the boxes in his arms. "Well gee, good to know I was overruled by sparkles."

'You're probably not the first.' Roxas thought.

"Well anyways!" Sora continued. "I was, uh, wondering if you had a minute? To talk?"

"Lucky you, I'm about to go on break!" Axel informed him. The guy sure seemed to get a lot of breaks, in Roxas's opinion. These ski resort people sure weren't working him very hard!

Roxas stealthily crept after them as they walked down the hall so that Axel could put his boxes away in the storage room. In a brief moment of panic, Roxas was sure they were going to lock the door, and he wouldn't be able to spy on them, but instead it was left partway open, and if Roxas stood at just the right angle he could see Axel and Sora sitting down on some crates, across from eachother as they geared up for their conversation.

"So what is it?" Axel asked, sounding interested, but a little confused.

"Oh." Sora began. "Well, uh, I was just wondering. About… about you and Roxas?"

'_Damnit, Sora!'_ Roxas mentally swore. _'Have some tact!' _He watched Axel carefully, trying to gauge a reaction, and he saw the redhead tense up slightly, indicating that he was uncomfortable with the question.

"Uh… what about us?" he hesitantly asked. "Did Roxas say something?"

Oh crap. Oh crap oh crap damnit crap fuck on a stick. Sora was going to tell Axel what he said and make him look like a complete ass!

"Not really." The brunette smoothly answered. "It just kind of seems like something weird is going on with you guys, and I wondered what it was."

Well goddamn. Sora had gained the powers of insight and discrepancy. Roxas was impressed. Not only that, but now he had the ability to overhear what Axel's assessment of the situation was with no outside influence.

"Oh…" Axel responded, and Roxas could see that he didn't look overly enthused about the direction in which the conversation was headed. "Well, uh… I'm not sure what's up. I mean… it's been a while since I last saw him. I think he said he's been busy with school?"

"Really?" Sora questioned, tilting his head in a curiously thoughtful manner._'No, Sora, no!'_ Roxas thought. "That's weird, I didn't think he seemed too interested in his homework this year. Or, you know… ever."

Well then. The cat was out of the bag now. Roxas barely held in a groan, not wanting to alert Axel and Sora to his presence, but needing to let out some of his frustration. All there was to do now was see how Axel processed the information.

"Oh." He responded, and Roxas could have sworn he saw the redhead's wild spikes droop a little. "Well I did think it was a pretty weak excuse… But I mean, I've seen him pretty often here and he seems… okay with me. Right?"

Sora smiled, getting up and joining Axel on his crate, pulling the taller, lankier teen into an awkward sideways hug. "I think Roxas is confused." He told Axel.

Hey! Since when did Roxas give Sora the privilege of speaking on his behalf? NEVER, that's when!

"Confused?" Axel echoed.

"Yeah." Sora assured him. "I think he was talking about it with Riku a little, and he seemed kind of stressed out about it. He's never been very good at getting his deeper emotions out, and I think you kind of… you kind of _made_ him own up to the fact that he could express feelings for someone, you know?"

"I've been trying to tone it down…" Axel admitted. "I mean, at first it was cool to just be annoying and get him all flustered, but after he stopped calling… I mean, it was never like I got any explanation or closure or anything so I really have no idea what's up with him. As long as he's around, though, and not acting like he never wants to see me again… I guess I'm just trying to lay off so I don't overwhelm him."

"And that's good!" Sora assured him, patting down Axel's spikes like one would pet a dog who had just done something biscuit-worthy. "As long as you don't completely change yourself, anyways."

"Nah, I'm just taking it down a notch." Axel admitted with a sigh.

"Well don't worry." Sora assured him. "Roxas will come around. He usually does. He'll act like he doesn't care, but deep down. Or you know… really deep, deep down. Like really REALLY deep deep _deeeeep_ down…"

Roxas glowered at Sora from his hiding spot.

"Like _really_ deep. Deep deep down in the dark secret corners of his most deeply hidden –"

"Sora, I get it." Axel cut in.

"Oh. Right. Anyways, deep down, I know he cares. About me, and about Riku, and about all of his other friends, and especially about _you_."

There really was nothing quite like hearing yourself being talked about and analyzed when the person doing it had no idea you could hear them, Roxas realized. When people talked about other people behind their back they felt like they could say anything that they wanted about the person, whatever their truthful feelings and observations of the other person was. And the crazy thing was, Sora wasn't… he wasn't_gossiping_ or anything, regardless of the fact that he was talking about Roxas behind his back. He was being kind and insightful and helpful, and saying things that Roxas really wanted to refute, but knew he couldn't. Not if he was being honest with himself.

"Alright." Axel replied. "I'll keep that in mind, then."

"Good!" Sora clipped, beaming brightly. "He'll come around, you'll see."

Axel stood then, brushing the front of his pants off. "Well then, I think I gotta get going. I've got to meet up with Ven – today's his day off and I told him I'd hang with him. Hey, you haven't seen Demyx around, have you?"

Sora shook his head. "Nope, sorry."

"Alright then, I'll have to give him a call. He said he wanted to hit the slopes with you and Riku later."

"Oh cool!"

At this point Axel and Sora were moving for the door, and the Axel/Roxas conversation seemed to be over so Roxas made a hasty retreat. It certainly wouldn't do to be caught spying.

He headed out through the back entrance to the lodge, just to make sure Sora and Axel didn't see that he had been hanging around. Trudging through the snow, Roxas decided that a walk was in order to process everything that he had just heard. As he wandered and mulled things over, it became obvious that Axel didn't realize the full extent of Roxas's, ah, _extended absence_ from his life. Roxas had purposefully cut him out, like a jerky, self-centered asshole who thought he wasn't obligated to hang around riffraff like Axel. And… there was more to it than that, but essentially that was what it came down to, as far as how he had treated Axel.

Slumping against a tree, Roxas let out a long exhale. Axel wasn't a bad person, he just… complicated things. Roxas was going to have to decide if dealing with those complications was worth it or not, sooner rather than later. He thought of Axel, wondering what he was thinking, doing. He said he'd be heading off to spend a day doing who-knows-what with Ven, right?

Argh. Ven. Roxas just couldn't stand him. He had no right to budge in and take away Axel's attention while Roxas was still trying to figure things out! Something had to be done about that.

Plopping down in the snow, Roxas drew his knees up to his chest, folding his arms over the knees and resting his chin on them. Thinking pose: check. Now all he had to do was stay put and wrack his little brain for a plan to figure things out with Axel.

Because… if he didn't do it fast, he might lose his chance forever.

Whoofah. It was going to be a looooong day.

**-o-**

**.x.x. .o.O.o. .x.x.**

What's this? Another chapter so soon after the last one? XD I certainly hope you enjoyed this surprise treat!

Haha, well you see… I realized that if I paced myself right I could make it so that the last chapter was posted on the 29th of February, and a chance like that only comes around once in every four years! I'm always really OCD about numbers for my posting dates, sooo… yeah. XD I made a little list for myself of what my posting schedule has to be like, so I'm planning on weekly updates (about), starting now.

BE PLEASED WITH ME! X3


	5. Stop Messing It Up

**.o.O.o.**

I own nothing! Please don't sue me!

For additional warnings, disclaimers, and summary, see the first chapter!

**.x.x.x.**

…_sometimes  
I still think of you  
And I just wanted to  
Just wanted you to know  
My old friend...  
I swear I never meant for this  
I never meant…_

_Don't look at me that way  
It was an honest mistake_

"An Honest Mistake" - The Bravery

**.o.O.o.**

**Fool Me Twice…**

**Stop Messing It Up**

**-o-**

After a previous day filled with walking around and sitting in the snow, thinking of plans on how to figure out the whole Axel deal, Roxas woke up the next morning with a feeling of purpose and determination.

That also could have been due to the fact that he'd gotten a good night's sleep for the first time since arriving at the ski resort. He'd gotten home as soon as it had started getting dark, finding Sora and Riku cuddling by the fire. After having some spiced tea that made him feel rather content and sleepy, Roxas had cautiously headed to his room._Cautiously_, because he was terrified of walking into Seifer and Hayner engaged in another one of their little sessions of competition between the sheets.

Thankfully, though, there was neither hide nor hair of either of them, and after making sure to change the sheets and flip the mattress, Roxas climbed in, collapsing in exhaustion. He was mentally worn out – and tired from walking to boot – so he had almost immediately gone straight to sleep, with no tossing or turning while thinking about Axel. And the bed was just _so_ much more comfortable than the couch.

Waking up at a little past six to find that Hayner had apparently not come home that night (urgh, what _had_ he been doing, then? Roxas didn't want to think about it.) Roxas resolved himself to not being able to fall back asleep, pulled on some clothes and headed downstairs, looking forward to whatever Riku was cooking up for breakfast.

But Sora was currently sprawled across Riku on the couch, both of them still dead asleep. Tangled in a mess of limbs, Roxas didn't wander close enough to see if they were wearing anything underneath the quilted blanket that was sloppily pulled over them. If _Sora_ was too tired to be awake before the sun, Roxas really didn't want to do too much investigating.

Well then. Roxas dug around in the pantry and refrigerator, coming up with a nutrition bar and a bottle of orange juice to serve as an adequate breakfast. Sitting down at the table he glanced at a magazine of some sort that had been left out, slowly chewing his food and trying to wake up a little more as he went over his plans for the day.

The first order of business would be finding out where Axel was. Which normally wouldn't be too hard, seeing as the redhead seemed to crop up all over the place, at whatever exact location Roxas was currently occupying, but Roxas figured that the moment he started actually trying to look for Axel, he would be nowhere to be found. But the lodge was always a good starting place, so Roxas cleaned up after himself, pulled on his snow jacket, and headed outside.

The walk to the lodge this early in the morning was kind of nice, Roxas thought as his breath came out in puffy clouds in the chill air. Everything was clear and bright, and birds were flitting around, chirping. The snow was a little choppy, due to the fact that there hadn't been any new snowfall since they had arrived and people walking around in it had gotten it all crunched up, but it was still nice all the same.

A warm rush of air met Roxas as he pulled open the double doors of the lodge, stepping in and looking around. As it was still fairly early not many other people were around, but Roxas spied a head of blonde over behind the café counter. Uuuuuurgh…

Steadying himself to interact, Roxas headed over. Halfway there he was spotted and acknowledged.

"Hey." Ven greeted as Roxas arrived at the counter. "How can I help you?"

"I'm looking for Axel, actually." Roxas replied, not bothering with a friendly hello. After all, this Ven guy was his competition.

"Oh." The blonde replied, looking confused by the response. "Well it's his day off, he's probably either still sleeping, or hitting the slopes with Demyx."

"Right." Roxas said, turning on his heel and heading back for the door. "Thanks."

Since Roxas had no idea where Axel was staying, he opted for heading to the ski run. Not too many other people were there at the early hour, and Roxas ended up on the lift all by himself. It was a little scary, being up in the air on a wire, but he toughed himself up and dealt with it.

The top of the slope was nearly deserted, and Roxas wondered what to do with himself. He supposed he'd just wait for Axel? But after about twenty minutes Roxas realized that this was a stupid plan. He didn't even know for sure that Axel was going to be there. It would have been a lot easier if he just had some way to get in contact… with… Axel.

Oh duh.

Cursing his stupidity and belated though processes, Roxas pulled out his phone, finding Axel's number and calling it. He scowled as it rang, frustrated at himself for poor planning, and a little upset at Axel for not being where Roxas had wanted him to be, as unreasonable as that was.

"…_Hello?"_

"Axel, where the hell are you?" Roxas snapped in irritation.

"_Roxas?"_

"Yes, Roxas." The blonde confirmed in a huff. "Where are you?"

"…_in my bed? Where am I supposed to be?"_

"You're supposed to be at the slopes, so that we can hang out." Roxas exasperatedly explained, as if Axel was supposed to have known this.

"_We're hanging out today?" _Axel was asking, sounding very confused and still half asleep._ "I don't remember planning to –"_

"Well we're hanging out. Get up here." Roxas told him.

"_Wait, you're already there?"_ Axel asked, and he still sounded confused, but now he also sounded rather amused._ "Why the hell did you go wait out in the snow for me without even telling me that I was supposed to – "_

"Shut up." Roxas cut in, flushing in embarrassment. "Just get your ass out of bed and come here, okay?"

"_I have a better idea."_ Axel said, sounding much more awake now. Roxas could hear shuffling over the phone line, and assumed that Axel was getting up and pulling some clothes on. _"Do you know where the snow gear rental store is?"_

"Yes?" Roxas replied. "I got my snowboard there the other day."

"_Okay."_ Axel replied, and Roxas could practically see the decisive nod that the redhead no doubt made. _"Meet me there, okay?"_

"Fine, whatever." Roxas grumbled.

"_Bye Roxie!"_

Roxas hung up the phone with a scowl. Damn it, this was supposed to be his day of planning what to do with Axel and he'd already managed to screw it up. Typical. But then again, he shouldn't have expected anything other than insanity and disorganization. After all, this all revolved around Axel, did it not?

**.o.x.O.x.o.**

Grumbling, Roxas trudged through the choppy snow surrounding the rental store, irritated that he'd had to come all the way back down the mountain. His irritation only grew when Axel was standing right outside, bundled up in a jacket and scarf, looking bright and chipper. _Why_ was he going out of his way to re-establish connections with that idiot again?

"Hey Roxas." Axel greeted as Roxas came to stand in front of him. "Have fun going up and down the mountain for no reason?"

"Fuck you." Roxas grumbled. "Just tell me why we're here."

"Well lucky for you, Demyx met up with some friend from school and ran off to spend the day with him, leaving me with one amazing extra rental which I can now share with _you_."

Roxas didn't like he sound of that, and he narrowed his eyes suspiciously. "What did you guys rent?"

Rather than answering, Axel simply smirked, ruffling Roxas's hair and inclining his head towards the side of the rental store. "C'mon, let's go check it out."

With a growing sense of dread, Roxas followed after Axel. The redhead led him around to the back of the building, where all of Roxas's worst nightmares came true.

"No. No, no, no, Axel, no way. I don't know what the hell you were thinking, but there is no way I'm doing this with you." He said, eyes wide in fear as he shook his head and backed away. Axel grabbed his arm, laughing, and dragged him back.

"Oh come on! It'll be fun! Kind of like skidoos, but for the snow!"

"Right." Roxas deadpanned. "Because that comparison makes me feel sooooo much better about the situation." But Axel was ignoring him, finding out who was in charge of rentals and getting set up.

With extreme trepidation, Roxas watched Axel fill out the rental forms for the… the _snowmobiles_. God help him. He was going to die.

"All set, Roxie!" Axel chipperly announced, handing the papers back to the rental guy. "Let's go pick em' out, yeah?"

Finding the single-person snowmobiles, they both picked their poison, so to speak, and after some quick instruction, were allowed to take off into the wilderness. Roxas was glad to not have to share a snowmobile that Axel was in charge of commanding, but even in control of his own means of transportation he felt a bit of anxiety. The snow was choppy from other people who had been either walking or snowmobiling around, and it made for a bumpy ride. Not only that, but the things were noisy as hell, and smelled like gasoline.

"Isn't this great?" Axel called back with a wild grin on his face, looking ecstatic.

"Yeah. _Great_. Exactly the adjective I was looking for." Roxas called back, struggling to convey his annoyance while shouting as loud as he could. "And look where you're going!"

Axel seemed to take pleasure in going very fast, and making very abrupt turns around trees, bushes, posts, children and small animals, etc. Roxas watched, horror-struck, as the elder teen barely avoided flipping his snowmobile over as he turned out a little too fast on a snow bank for the 1,238,176,248,352,015th time.

"AXEL!" He called out, struggling to keep up. "Slow down! Jesus!"

Instead, Axel floored it, going very straight very fast, before abruptly turning in a complete 180, causing a flurry of snow to go fluffing out behind him. He stopped then, thank God, and Roxas caught up, pulling alongside him with a glare.

"What the hell, Axel, these things aren't toys." He lectured. "Stop going crazy, you're gonna crash and kill yourself, and I'm not pitching in for the funeral."

"Pffft." Axel scoffed, waving his hands in a careless gesture. "I know what I'm doing. Stop being so uptight. Now come on, keep up."

And with that he was off, leaving Roxas to growl angrily in his throat and attempt to catch up.

Zig-zagging across the snow, they ventured further and further out into the woods, until Roxas was quite sure that they were no longer on the property of the ski lodge. In fact, they could very well no longer be in the right country for all he knew. They were probably going to die out here, in the freezing cold wilderness, and no one would ever even find their bodies. In fact, there might not even be any bodies to find after the wolves –

"Roxas!"

Snapping out of his morbid daydreams, the blonde looked to Axel, only to find that the idiot was slowing down, letting Roxas catch up.

"What?" he yelled back.

"Let's stop here."

Looking around, Roxas found that they were on the edge of a clearing, the blanket of snow devoid of any outside disturbance. Obviously they were far out of the range of the resort, just as Roxas had thought.

Slowing down and cutting the engine alongside Axel, Roxas shakily got off of the speeding death trap, surveying their surroundings. Axel clambered off of his own snowmobile and crunched through the snow to stand by Roxas, looking around appreciatively.

"Pretty nice, eh?"

"Where are we?" Roxas replied, refusing to acknowledge that yes, it was pretty nice. Scattered trees surrounded them, and a clearing type of area stretched out before them, looking pristine and wilderness-y.

"Who knows?" Axel replied with a grin. "But it's cool, right?"

"What!" Roxas exclaimed, waving his arms wildly. "Axel, what do you mean? We could be lost, and all because you had to be an idiot and go speeding off into the –"

"Rox, chill out." Axel cut in. "We can follow our tracks back. And come on, where's your sense of adventure?"

Slightly mollified by the promise of a way to get back, Roxas calmed down. Okay, fine, so he had to admit… it _was_ pretty nice, wherever they were. There wasn't anyone else around talking and being loud (well, except for Axel, as per usual) and the only sounds were the chirping of birds and the occasional 'thunk' of snow as it fell from the branches overhead.

"Yeah, alright, we can hang out here, I guess." Roxas mumbled, and Axel grinned, pleased to interpret that as a Roxas version of 'I like it here'.

Grabbing a tarp that was affixed to the side of the snowmobile, Axel tossed it at the base of a nearby tree, sitting down on it and patting the space next to him, indicating that Roxas should join him. "C'mon, Roxie, si'down."

Heaving a sigh, Roxas plopped down next to Axel, leaning back against the tree. Axel leaned over, nudging him playfully with a shoulder. Roxas turned to glare at him, only to be met with a wide grin.

"Pretty nice, huh?"

"I guess." Roxas noncommittally responded.

"_Especially_ nice to be here with me, right?"

"Hn." Roxas huffed. "Sure, we'll go with that."

They ended up sitting in silence for a good while, and Roxas found himself stealthily creeping closer and closer to Axel until they were side-to-side, the blonde leaning against the taller male, just slightly. The companionable silence was rather nice, and proved to be conducive to viewing wildlife as well when two deer passed by them through the snow, not fifteen feet away.

Really, it was all so quaint and perfect that Roxas had a hard time registering that he was sharing the experience with _Axel_ of all people.

"Are you cold or something?" Axel asked, and Roxas looked up to see that Axel was frowning slightly, looking concerned. Becoming conscious of himself, Roxas realized that he was quite snugly cuddled up to Axel's side, and was, in fact, shivering a little. "Cause I mean, I like the attention and all, but I don't want you to go dying on me or something."

"I'm just cold." Roxas grumbled, scooting away and pouting.

"Well then why don't we go back to the cabin?" Axel suggested.

"Your cabin?" Roxas suspiciously inquired. That seemed a little fishy, and he certainly didn't want to get himself cornered in an enclosed space on unfamiliar territory with the redhead just yet.

"Nah, I don't have a key to our cabin." Axel told him, and Roxas threw him a look. "What? Larxene took my right to my own key away after I lost the fifth one in a row."

Rolling his eyes, Roxas stood, brushing his pants off. Axel took the hint that they were leaving, and packed up the tarp before clambering onto his snowmobile. Petal to the metal, he roared off with a backwards grin and thumbs up, leaving Roxas to floundering attempt to catch up to him.

Eventually they ended back at Riku's cabin, and Roxas let them in because unlike_some_ people, he was allowed to have his own set of keys.

"_Wow_." Axel appreciatively commented upon stepping in, drawing the word out to stress his awe. "This place is _niiiiice_. Is Riku's family like totally loaded or what?"

"I guess." Roxas replied with a shrug, toeing off his boots and hanging up his coat.

"WOAH!" Axel exclaimed, wandering into the living room. "I didn't even know they _made_ TVs this big!"

"Well obviously they do." Roxas said, a little embarrassed by Axel's blatant ogling. "Do you want something to eat or something?"

"Food?" Axel responded, ambling back into the kitchen at the mention of sustenance.

After foraging around in the refrigerator and pantry for a bit, Axel and Roxas came up with some snacks to busy themselves with while they watched a movie on the bigscreen TV. Axel picked out some testosterone-packed dick-flick about street racing in Tokyo, and they settled back into the couch as the opening credits started up. The movie proved to be excruciatingly devoid of congruent plot and acting, so after a while Axel started doing a running commentary.

"…and okay so now what, right?" he was saying, shifting in his seat and throwing his arm over the back of the couch, not seeming to notice that doing so left it practically around Roxas's shoulders. "The chick realizes she genuinely likes Mr. Antagonist, but her psycho boyfriend who was hanging around with a bunch of whores _just a couple scenes ago_ thinks he has a right to tell her who she can and can't hang around? I know this is supposed to be creating drama and all, but what the hell man? Does she not realize that she has a_little_ leverage in this argument?"

Roxas couldn't help but smirk at the evaluation. Axel was pretty witty and freaking hilarious when he wasn't paying attention to trying to be so. The redhead had a knack of being utterly side-splitting when he wasn't paying attention to the fact that he was being clever, but the moment he purposefully tried to get a laugh he came off as being completely annoying.

"Axel, you're ridiculous." Roxas evaluated, shaking his head and smirking.

"Re_cock_ulous!" Axel corrected, shaking a finger at Roxas. It took a minute for the blonde to get the joke, and when he did he punched Axel in the arm.

"You're _also_ a pervert."

"But you loooove it." Axel smirked, getting his face right up in Roxas's, causing a serious breach of personal space.

"Che, you wish." Roxas shot back, looking away as a blush threatened to come over his cheeks.

"Maybe." Axel cheekily responded, winking. Argh, Roxas hated when people winked. "So besides watching vroom-vroom car movies, what is there to do around this swanky pad?"

Roxas lifted an eyebrow at him. "Vroom-vroom car movies? _Swanky pad_, Axel? Really?" God, the guy just got weirder and weirder every time he opened his mouth.

"Just callin' it like it is." Axel grinned back.

"Whatever you say." Roxas grumbled, leaning back into the couch and shaking his head.

"Hey remember that time we got lost in the wilderness?"

Roxas looked back to Axel with an irritatedly confused expression. "What do you mean 'do I remember?' Of _course_ I remember! I was there! Lost! In the _wilderness_! With YOU. Not exactly easy to forget."

"I dunno." Axel replied with a shrug, tone light. "Just wondering. Cause I dunno, sometimes it seems like you try to push that whole trip out of your mind…"

The tone may have been light, but it was obvious that Axel was having a rare moment of discretion, and alluding to more than just forgetting about their little "up the creek without a paddle-esque" adventure.

"I didn't forget any of it." Roxas mumbled. He tried very hard to sound nothing but a little disgruntled, but his heart was hammering inside his chest. Oh God, were they really going to breach this topic? Was he even ready to talk about it?

"It was a fun trip though, huh?" Axel was murmuring, leaning closer.

Oh God, oh God, oh God. Roxas fought the urge to hyperventilate, but just barely. Axel was reeeaaaally close. Um. Um... UM UM UM!? What was he supposed to do? This was what he had wanted though, right? Time to reconnect and re-bond with Axel? SO why was he so nervous, now that everything had fallen into place? _'No, Roxas!'_ his brain sternly told him _'You have to be strong, you have to be brave, and you have to be confident! DO NOT BACK DOWN NOW OR YOU MAY MISS YOUR CHANCE FOREVER.'_

"Yeah…" Roxas murmured, too embarrassed to look Axel in the face, even though those bright green eyes were mere inches away from his own. "Yeah, it was… nice."

"So then…" Axel breathed, leaning in.

"Uh… yeah…." Roxas whispered, unconsciously leaning in.

"HEY GUYS, ARE THOSE YOUR SNOW SKIDOOS OUT FRONT?"

Bolting to the opposite end of the couch, Roxas's eyes went wide and panicked. Sora bounced into the living room, full of energy as he stripped off his jacket. Riku followed him in, Hayner right after him, and with the sudden influx of people Roxas felt very trapped, and very caught in the act.

"Roxas, you alright?" Riku asked, looking him over.

"Uh, yeah." The blonde responded, voice shaky and cracking on the first syllable of the second word. He shifted his gaze sideways to glance at Axel, who was giving him a very strange look.

Oh crap.

Roxas did not like that look.

It was a look of mistrust, a look of hurt, and a look of confusion. Roxas pulling away and freaking out conveyed an "I am not okay with this situation, get away from me!" type of message, which was entirely _opposite_ from what he had been trying to convey.

'_No no no!'_ Roxas tried to convey with his eyes. _'I'm not ashamed of you, I was just surprised!'_

But Axel stood up, expression unreadable. "Guess I'm gonna head back home then." He said.

'_Axel, wait!'_ Roxas was internally screaming, but the words couldn't make it out of his throat for how thick and choked up it was feeling.

"Aww, you can stay!" Sora offered. "We can make an extra plate of dinner for you!"

"That's okay." Axel said, pulling on his coat. "I have to get the snowmobiles back anyways. You guys have a nice evening."

And then he was gone.

"Hey we should get snow skidoos tomorrow, Riku!" Sora chattered.

"No, they're expensive and dangerous." Riku firmly replied.

"I bet you could make a snowmobile if you attached a rocket to your sled." Hayner helpfully put in.

"_No_." Riku insisted, glaring at Hayner.

The three continued to bicker and whine lightheartedly at eachother, but Roxas heard none of it. Axel had _left_. He'd… he'd just walked out the door without so much as a backwards glance.

What a strange, ironic twist.

"Crap." Roxas muttered under his breath. "I really screwed up."

**-o-**

**.x.x. .o.O.o. .x.x.**

LOOKIE LOOKIE, another chapter! 8D

Oh ho ho, the drama continues! What will Roxas do now? What is Axel really thinking? Why is Riku so mysterious and sexy? Is Sora capable of being a normal, sane, not-idiot for even two seconds? XD Possibly some of these answers and a crapload more… NEXT CHAPTER!

In other news: Um, holy crap? Buckets of reviews, and I even got a few pieces of FANART WTF. I love you guys so hardcore. Seriously. Make babies with me. Except not really. Just keep being freaking AWESOME, okay?

Seeya next chapter!


	6. Just Say Sorry It's Never Too Late

**.o.O.o.**

I own nothing! Please don't sue me!

For additional warnings, disclaimers, and summary, see the first chapter!

**.x.x.x.**

_I'm holdin' on your rope  
got me ten feet off the ground  
I'm hearin' what you say but  
I just can't make a sound  
You tell me that you need me  
then you go and cut me down_

"Apologize" – Timbaland feat. One Republic

**.o.O.o.**

**Fool Me Twice…**

**Just Say "Sorry" (It's Never Too Late)**

**-o-**

Roxas hated the feeling of waking up and knowing that something was wrong with his life, even if he couldn't quite immediately put his finger on it in his muddled, still half-asleep brain. It was as if during that brief period of time of hazy confusion right between sleeping and waking, there was a moment of unrest, of questioning, of vague unawareness, before the floodgates opened and everything came crashing back in a rush of clarity.

"Uuuuuuuurgh."

Rolling onto his back and pressing his palms firmly down over his eyes, Roxas tried to process everything. Last night replayed over and over in his mind – the way he'd reacted, the way Axel had looked at him, the utter regret he'd felt as the redhead walked right out the door. Roxas had stayed frozen for a good five minutes or so after Axel had left, only to be jolted back into reality when Sora offered him a plate of dinner and a glass of juice.

The blonde had promptly stood and walked straight to bed without a word, flopping down and groaning in frustration. Urgh. He'd been _so close_ to fixing things. What with the day of hanging out, the genuine bonding time, the little moment that they had been about to have…

"_God_. What the hell?" Roxas lamented, pulling his pillow out from under his head and smushing it over his face. "Can't I ever catch a break?"

It was late morning, and everyone else was already out of the house; Hayner's spot on his side of the bed was long since cold, and there was no enthusiastic conversation by Sora drifting up the stairs or clanking of pans from Riku making breakfast.

It wasn't a surprise that he had slept in, though. Roxas had spent most of the night tossing and turning and hating himself, or passing out in exhaustion, only to be plagued by agonizing dreams.

"Grah." He growled, rolling out of bed. Hunger suddenly took precedence. Last night he had registered little interest in eating dinner, but right now his stomach was telling him that he needed to get his sorry ass down to the kitchen and feed it ASAP.

Dragging himself downstairs, Roxas discovered a note on the fridge from Riku, telling him that he and Sora had gone on a walk and would be home later in the afternoon. He heated up some leftover oatmeal that had been left in the refrigerator for him, and contemplated what his next plan of attack would be, in regards to the Axel situation.

Okay, well obviously he needed to go talk to Axel. It would be awkward and embarrassing and confusing, but darnit it was something he had to buck up and do! Reluctantly trekking back upstairs and getting dressed, Roxas grabbed his coat and boots before heading out into the snow.

Yet again there had been no snowfall overnight, and the path from the cabin to the lodge was getting very worn. Roxas's breath came out in frosty puffs as he took in the slightly dirty, mucked-up snow. It was a little depressing, really. He'd always had an image of snow being crystalline and perfect and white, but with so many people walking through it, a result of dirty, muddled chunks was seemingly inevitable.

Roxas was actually a little butt-hurt at nature over this, because he would never ever admit it out loud, but… he had really wanted to experience the magic of his first snowfall. Soft flakes falling from the sky and covering the world in a blanket of white and all that.

Before long his feet had taken him to the lodge, and Roxas paused outside the doors, not sure if he should actually go in or not. In or out? Confrontation, or blissful avoidance? Decisions, decisions…

"Uuurgh, fine." Roxas grumbled to himself, pushing the doors open and stepping inside. He started heading to the gift shop area, where he had seen Axel the other day when Sora talked to him, but was caught by surprise when he saw a flash of red behind the café counter.

Aw crap, Axel had noticed him too, when the stupid little bell above the door had dinged. There was almost no one else in the lodge that morning, leaving Roxas right out in the open. But… Axel didn't look completely bent out of shape at him. He just looked kind of… blank. that was a good sign, right? Operating on this logic, Roxas headed over to the café, intent on playing it casual and having a nice normal conversation with the redhead so that the guy could tell that Roxas was hadn't meant to freak out over him last night.

"Uh… hey, Axel." Roxas greeted, stepping up to the counter.

"What can I get for you, sir?" Axel asked in a very clipped, on-the-job-like voice. Roxas furrowed his brows, looking around to see if Axel was being overseen by a boss or something, and that was the reason for the formality. But he didn't see much of anyone hanging around, let alone an observing boss-type figure, so he was a little confused.

"Um, _sir_?" Roxas questioned, thrown off by the use of such an honourific. "And I didn't really come here to get a drink, I just… wanted to stop by and say hey. You, uh, left pretty fast last night and all."

"Yeah, guess I did." Axel said with a shrug, picking up a wet mug and cleaning it with a dish towel.

"So then…" Roxas continued, trudging onwards. "Are you working all day? Cause I was thinking maybe later you might want to –"

"Yeah, I'm working." Axel interrupted with a frown. "And why would you want to go anywhere with me, anyways?"

"Uh…"

"I mean someone might _see_ us."

"Axel, I –"

"Because_heaven forbid_ you might be associated with me in public, right?"

"Axel, what the hell!" Roxas asked, exasperated. "Why are you being like this?"

The moment he said it, Roxas wanted to go jump off of the tallest mountain he could climb and smash to the earth in a fatal plummet. Twice. The look of incredulity that Axel was giving him assured Roxas that the redhead had also caught on to the moronic irony of the question, and he was no doubt extremely irritated at Roxas's insensitivity, as he had every right to be.

"Why am _I_ acting like this?" Axel asked back. "Really, Roxas?_Seriously_?"

"Uh…" Roxas fiddled with his hands, wringing them nervously. "Okay, so I guess maybe I have an idea of why you're possibly a little mad, but if you'll just let me explain, I promise that there's a perfectly reasonable explanation for –"

"Perfectly reasonable _my ass_!" Axel hissed, and it was the first time Roxas had ever actually seen him pissed like this. The taller make snapped his head to the side, fixing a look at Ven, who had just come to join him with a box of café items retrieved from the storage room. Roxas glared at him, both for interrupting, and simply for being who he was.

"Ven, I'm taking a break."

The blonde looked hesitantly questioning, as if he was reluctant to know what was going on, but feeling it his duty to say something, nevertheless. "Uh, Axel… I don't really think that –"

"I'M TAKING A FUCKING BREAK."

Wide eyed in shock, Ven nodded in agreement, and Axel turned his attention back to Roxas, pointing a finger right in his face. "You. Come with me."

Absolutely terrified for his life, Roxas obediently followed after the livid redhead, who was somehow managing to look quite intimidating, even in an apron. The small part of Roxas's brain that wasn't wetting itself in fear was impressed.

Once he was out from behind the counter, Axel reached out and grabbed for Roxas's wrist, literally dragging him along like a stubborn child or reluctant pet. Roxas was a little insulted, but figured that now wasn't the time to be indignant about it.

He found himself being dragged to the exact storage room that Sora and Axel had conversed in. Not that he could blurt out an "OH HEY I'VE BEEN HERE BEFORE" or anything, but he mentally took note of it, at any rate.

As soon as they got in the room, Axel closed the door behind them, rather harshly. He then turned right around, glaring at Roxas. "So what's your deal?"

"Deal?" Roxas echoed. He had a deal? Not to feign ignorance, but…"What deal?"

"The _deal_." Axel clarified, narrowing his eyes. "Where you think it's cool to play hot and cold with my feelings. Is this some kind of a game to you? See how long you can string Axel along before cutting him off, and then doing it all over again?"

"Wha… no!" Roxas replied, a bit of anger in his tone and a scowl on his features. He didn't appreciate being painted as such an insensitive asshole… even if Axel _did_ have a point. "I'm not '_playing a game'_, Axel!"

"Well it sure as hell _feels_ like it!" Axel growled, stepping closer. This was a problem for Roxas, because Axel was significantly taller than him, and he felt a little stupid having to look up at the person he was trying to have an argument with. It certainly made him feel like he had lost a little leverage for defending himself.

"Well I'm not that kind of person, Axel!" he countered, clenching and unclenching his fist in frustration.

"_How would I know that_!?" Axel snapped back, and Roxas was a little insulted. "When have you ever been really honest with me, or told me what you think or feel?"

Roxas made to interrupt and defend himself, but Axel raised a hand, butting him off. "Roxas, all we ever do is play this little tug of war with eachother, trying to figure out what's going on with one another, and when we were both trying to figure it out, that was one thing… but it's completely different now! Now it's like… it's like there's no balance, and the ball's in your court so you keep baiting me along and then cutting me off, and all I'm doing is trying to go along with it and keep up! But all I'm getting from you is mixed messages, and I'm not sure if you know how that feels, but it fucking _sucks_, okay?"

Ooooooh. Wow. So Roxas was feeling_pretty_ bad right about now. Not that he was going to admit that, of course, but it felt like Axel had just thrown all of his bad behaviour over the past few months back in his face, and it was… pretty embarrassing. Not to mention highly rude, when looked at from the other side of the fence, perspectively. A blush rose to his cheeks, and he tried to play it off as if the flush was out of anger.

"Okay look, Axel… I'm sorry, but I was just trying to figure things out, okay? Not all of us can just pick something completely insane to do and just _go with it_, alright?"

Aw crap, he'd said something he couldn't have again. He could tell by the way Axel stepped back, fixing him with an angered and hurt expression that the taller male had realized he just labeled them being together "insane", and… that probably hadn't been the best way to refer to such a touchy subject matter that held Axel's feelings.

"Insane or not," Axel began, voice low and level. "You don't get to go around playing with other people's feelings while you try to figure out your own! You have to think about _them_ too, and it's not like you can just throw them a bone on an issue, and then take it right back, over and over again. That's _cruel_, Roxas."

Even though he knew he was in the wrong, Roxas still managed to be offended that Axel kept placing such negative attributes on him.

"I'm not_trying_ to be cruel, Axel – I'm trying to be _rational_."

"Well_rational_," Axel shot back, stepping forward and pinning Roxas against the wall. His bright green eyes sparked with danger, and his face was mere inches away from Roxas's own. "isn't playing the same little game with someone over and over again without cluing the other person in as to what you're doing!"

"It's not a_game_, Axel." Roxas growled, feeling very small and trapped, but refusing to show how intimidated he was. "It's trying to make sense of the situation!"

"By going in _circles_?"

"It's confusing for me, okay?"

"Well that doesn't mean you have to drag me down into your little bog of confusion as well!"

"I wasn't_trying_ to dra–"

"Yeah, but that doesn't change the fact that you still _did_!"

"You know, Axel, this isn't _all_about –"

"Me? It isn't all about _me_? That's funny, because it sure seems like this whole fucking mess is revolving around _your_ feelings towards _m_–"

"_I was scared, okay!?"_

Axel had no immediate response to Roxas's outburst, and he in fact looked quite taken aback. Roxas clenched and unclenched his fists in frustration, feeling wet pricklings of tears at the corners of his eyes. Oh no, that certainly wouldn't do. Fight them, Roxas, be a man!

The redhead was looking at Roxas skeptically, not saying anything, wordlessly prompting him to continue.

"I… I just…" Roxas tried to explain, blinking rapidly. "I mean, come on Axel. This shit freaks me out, okay? I try to keep it inside, but like… this is crazy for me. I… I never would have expected it, okay? So I lay awake at night trying to figure it out, and sometimes it feels like I should go for it, and other times it seems like I should stay the hell away from it, but then when I get around you _none of it makes any sense_. So I just get freaked the fuck out, 'cause it's not something I'm used to dealing with, okay? I'm not trying to… to fuckin' _string you along_, but it's a little hard to be completely calm and natural about it, okay?"

Axel still wasn't saying anything, and not only that, he was now giving Roxas a_really_ weird look that the blonde couldn't quite interpret. So Roxas plowed on, figuring he might as well just let it all out, now that he'd gotten started.

"So… okay fine, I like you, Axel. I do. But do you have any idea how hard that is for me to admit? Even to myself? Part of it is kinda cool, but a lot of it is just really overwhelming, especially since… since it's so fucking intense how much I think about you and try to understand why this works. And like… I have no idea what to do. So I act all crazy, and I'm sorry, okay? But it's only because I fucking _like you_."

Roxas had run out of things to say. Axel was still giving him that funny look, and Roxas was on the verge of shoving the redhead off and getting the hell out of there when Axel suddenly pushed Roxas fully up against the wall, leaning down and pressing up against him, meshing their lips into a passionate kiss.

Roxas's brain short circuited. Um… what the hell was going on?

But Axel didn't seem to care about the spontaneity of the situation, and he pressed closer, lifting Roxas up a bit against the wall so that they were on an even height with eachother. Surprised by the sudden action and loss of balance, Roxas threw his arms out, and ended up locking them around Axel's neck to keep himself steady. Axel fit their bodies together and tilted his head to the side, changing the angle of their kissing. Roxas was still completely lost as to why this was even occurring, but with all the pent up energy he had in him from their argument, he found this to be a rather satisfactory form of release.

Tightening his arms around Axel's neck, he drew the redhead closer, opening his mouth in an invitation for Axel to deepen their exchange. Axel took full advantage of the situation presented to him, slipping his tongue into Roxas's mouth and doing a sweep of it before he pulled back to draw the blonde lower lip into his mouth, eagerly sucking and nibbling on it.

Groaning, Roxas wrapped his legs around Axel's waist, feeling very lightheaded. Axel moved his hands to the back of Roxas's thighs, supporting him and gripping desperately.

Their kissing became sloppy, hurried, as they fueled eachother's need. Hands began wandering, and bodies began undulating, pressing together in a way that made both boys groan. Axel bit down on the junction between Roxas's neck and shoulder in an attempt to stifle his noises as he moved his hips, but Roxas had nothing to keep his own mouth occupied, so he couldn't help the strangled whimpers that escaped.

From the angle they were at, the placing was an almost perfect mimicry of a much more intimate meeting of bodies, and the similarity was lost on neither of the boys. Clothes separated them, but the intention was clear, and Roxas pressed his hips down to meet Axel's slow, upward grinding. The redhead gave a low growl, digging his fingers into Roxas's thighs as he hoisted him into a better position.

"Aah… aah… nnnn, Axel…" Roxas panted, resting his head back against the wall and scrunching his eyes closed at the onslaught of sensation.

"Rox…" Axel answered, panting and moving to latch his lips onto the blonde's neck, sucking and leaving wet, open-mouthed kisses.

"Nnn!" Roxas keened, clenching his jaw and pushing his hips forward as a particularly sensitive spot was nipped. "Axel, I – "

_KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK. _

Axel and Roxas barely had time to break apart before the door to the storage room was being slammed opened, and an annoyed looking Ven was stepping in.

"Hey Ax, I don't know what you think you're playing at, but … oh. Oh. Uh… wow, um…"

A pink hue flushed the blonde's cheeks as he realized what was going on right in front of him. Axel let out an annoyed sigh. "Just gimme another minute, okay?"

With a hasty nod, Ven backed out of the room, pulling the door closed behind him. Axel sighed, leaning forward and resting his forehead against the wall. Roxas was still propped up, held by Axel, and he suddenly felt extremely awkward. And very confused. The last thing he had heard from Axel was that he was pissed at Roxas's behaviour… and then he made out with his face? It didn't make sense.

_'Who's giving out mixed messages NOW, Axel!'_ Roxas's brain chastised.

"Guess I gotta get back to work." Axel mumbled, forehead still against the wall, his words slightly muffled by Roxas's neck, which was, by the way, now sporting a rather impressive hickey. Roxas could _feel_ it, right where Axel had bit down, and he wondered how on earth he was going to hide it.

"Wait, so…" Roxas began, brows furrowing. Axel pulled his face away from the wall, looking at Roxas as he talked. "What the hell was that? We were… we were fighting… Why did you just…?"

Axel smirked. "Roxas, all the stuff you said at the end there… do you realize that was the most honest explanation you've ever given me about the whole 'us' thing?"

"Uh…" Roxas looked away, blushing in embarrassment.

"No, no, no it's good." Axel assured him, gently turning Roxas's face back to look at him. "And… I get it now. Why you acted so funny."

"Yeah, uh… sorry again about that." Roxas sheepishly replied.

"It's alright." Axel told him. "Because you told me you like me. And… I guess maybe you were a little bit justified, Only just a little bit, but still… So, we'll just take it as it comes, okay?"

Roxas nodded, rather confused, but feeling indefinitely relieved nonetheless. "…okay."

"And besides." Axel continued with a smirk. "Now that I know that, I can molest you all I want, and even when you complain I'll know that deep down, you really want it."

"Axel, you ass." Roxas burst, embarrassed. Axel laughed.

"Nah, I'm kidding, I would never do that to you…"

"Thank you."

"… in public."

"AXEL!"

Laughing, Axel let Roxas slide down the wall, setting him on his unsteady feet. "Okay, but I really do have to get back to work. Venny'll skin me alive if I make him man the counter all by his scrawny little self."

The affectionate use of a nickname sparked something in Roxas, a remembrance of another issue he had regarding Axel, and he frowned.

"Axel, what the fuck is up with that kid?"

Axel raised an eyebrow. "Who, Ven?"

"Yes, Ven." Roxas retorted. "You can't honestly tell me he doesn't remind you of me. He practically stole my face. Where the hell did he come from?"

Axel grinned, elbowing Roxas lightly in the side. "Aaaaaw, is widdle Roxie jeaaaalous?"

Roxas glared. "Widdle Roxie wants to punch his face in." he darkly clarified. He had always been very sensitive about other people being considered more important than him, or having more worth to someone that he cared about.

Axel rolled his eyes. "He's just some kid I work with, Rox. Yeah, he reminds me of you a bit with how he looks, but he's not _you_. So it really doesn't matter to me what he looks like. What, did you think I was having some weird scandalous affair with him in an attempt to replace you or something?"

"Uh…" Roxas replied, trying not to look guilty.

Shaking his head in amusement, Axel grabbed Roxas and pulled him into a warm hug. "Roxas, you are one messed up kid… but that's why I like you."

**.o.x.O.x.o.**

**-o-**

OH MAN YOU GUYS.

This chapter. Seriously. It killed me.

I've never really written fighting before. Heck, I try to avoid real-life fighting as much as I possibly can. So like… this was really weird for me. Unluckily for myself personally, but luckily for this story, I was able to create parallels from some stuff I've been going through lately in my own life, and was able to channel it into creating the fighting part for these two.

But GUH. Seriously you guys, be nice to eachother. Try not to fight and be mean and stuff. Being nice is… nicer. XD

Anyways, laptop is busted, but I am scrambling with alternate computers and frantic emailing to continue the bringing of this story to you! Because I loooove you guys! 8D

Hope you enjoyed the chapter!


	7. Know It And Show It

**.o.O.o.**

I own nothing! Please don't sue me!

For additional warnings, disclaimers, and summary, see the first chapter!

**.x.x.x.**

_Everybody wants to live happily ever after  
Everybody wants to know their true love is true...  
How do you know he loves you?  
How do you know he's yours? _

_He'll find his own way to tell you  
With the little things he'll do  
That's how you know_

_He's your love._

"That's How You Know" – Amy Adams ('Enchanted' soundtrack)

**.o.O.o.**

**Fool Me Twice…**

**Know It And Show It**

**-o-**

With Axel working the previous day, Roxas hadn't gotten to see much of him other than when they had their little "chat". But that was perfectly alright, because apparently Seifer had also been scheduled for work that day, and Hayner came searching for Roxas, wanting to hit the slopes with him.

So for the second time in his life, Roxas had gone snowboarding, and it was quite different than his previous experience. Axel had been the one to teach him, and even though there had been much teasing and jostling, it had still been a relatively friendly kind of adventure, just in the mindset of playing and having fun.

But Hayner… good LORD, being around Seifer had really worn off on him, because Roxas was struggling to keep up with his friend, whose competitive drive seemed intent on taking the mountain by storm.

He swore, if he had to hear one more "COME ON, ROXAS! KEEP UP" he was gonna smash someone over the head with his board. Hard.

But it had really tired him out and let him be distracted from thinking about the mindboggling conversation he'd had with Axel. It was also a good release after the pent up frustration he'd had from fighting with Axel, followed right afterwards by frustration at being cut off from a heady makeout session with the redhead.

He'd gotten a lot better at snowboarding thanks to Hayner's method of pushing him hard until he got it right, and by the end of the day he was pleased with himself, but very sore. Roxas had never known that simply falling into fluffy snow could cause so much soreness and bruising to one's body, but it was a valuable lesson and one that he certainly wouldn't be forgetting for a long wile. He was pretty sure it would be at least a week before his limbs forgot their pain.

So due to the previous day's emotional and physical exhaustion, Roxas had gotten home to the cabin that night, walked right past Sora and Riku's offer of dinner, and flopped right into bed and fallen straight asleep.

Assumedly, Hayner must have eventually joined him at some point, and Sora and Riku probably stayed up talking downstairs for a while, but Roxas was aware of none of it. He remembered nothing past the flopping into bed, and when he woke the next morning to find the house empty and that he was still wearing his clothes from the previous day… he felt pretty gross. Sleeping in and wearing yesterday's clothes was just a rather unpleasant combination of laziness and uncleanliness, and Roxas's first fuzzy thought was "God, I need a shower."

However, before he could so much as roll out of bed, a very loud burst of singing invaded his senses, and Roxas jolted wide awake.

"HOW DOES SHE KNOW THAT YOU REALLY, REEEEALLY TRUUULY LOVE HER?"

That certainly didn't sound like Sora, and as far as he knew, Riku and Hayner didn't really sing…

"HOW DO I KNOOOOOOOOOOW HE LOVES ME! HOW DO I KNOOOOOW IT'S TRUUUUUUUUUE!"

Actually, the image of Riku singing show tunes loudly in the kitchen in his pajamas was a very priceless image to Roxas. However, the amusement would have to be saved for a later point in time, after he found out who the hell had gotten into the cabin.

"HE'LL FIND HIS OWN WAY TO TELL YOU! WITH THE LITTLE THINGS HE'LL DO!"

Grabbing a heavy book from the bedside table as a hastily improvised means of self-defense, Roxas cautiously stepped out into the upstairs hallway, peeking over the banister to see who was downstairs. Upon spying who it was that had invaded the cabin, Roxas sagged in defeat, tossing the book aside and rolling his eyes.

"THAT'S HOW YOU KNOW! THHAAAAAAAT'S HOW YOU –"

"God, Axel, shut up would you?" Roxas called out, covering his ears with his hands as he headed down the stairs. Axel whipped around, face brightening instantly.

"Roxie!" he happily cried out, and Roxas could have sworn he saw the fiery red spikes perk up a bit. "You're awake! … and wearing yesterday's clothes. You're all rumpled. "

Padding into the kitchen, Roxas allowed Axel to pull him into a warm 'good morning' hug. "Hn." He responded. Pushing himself out of Axel's hold, Roxas stepped back, surveying the kitchen with a frown. "… Axel, what the hell did you do to Riku's kitchen? And what are you _wearing_?"

The counters were covered in what seemed to be the aftermath of some sort of disastrously tragic flour explosion, and the damage extended to little smudges on Axel's face as well. On top of that, the lanky male was wearing some sort of… some horrendous baking apron, which was pink and ruffled and had a pathetically attempted 'endearing' slogan of "kiss the cook" stitched sloppily onto the chest.

"Well I'm making cookies, of course!" Axel replied, picking up a bowl and stirring its contents around with a wooden spoon. Loose flour and runny milk poofed and sloshed out of it.

"Uh… Axel, I'm not sure you're doing it right…" Roxas commented, wincing a little as cookie ingredients splattered all over Riku's nice kitchen counters and floor.

"Sure I am!" Axel happily replied, pouring a cup of something or another into the mixing bowl. "I've made snickerdoodles a million times before!"

Roxas eyed the redhead skeptically. "… if you say so. Why are you over here anyways? Did you just break in to make cookies? I don't get it."

Axel rolled his eye, shifting the bowl to rest on a jutted hip. "Roxie, I didn't break in, Sora invited let me in before he and Riku took off. And I'm making them for _you_, duh!"

A little touched, but mostly still just confused, Roxas raised an eyebrow at Axel. "Uh… okay. Well then you, uh… you do that. I'm going to go take a shower. Try not to burn the house down, okay?"

Axel eagerly nodded, mixing happily and adding ingredients intermittently as he hummed. With a sigh, Roxas headed back upstairs, intent on getting cleaned up a little. Grabbing a towel and a change of clothes, Roxas made sure to lock the bathroom door so that Axel couldn't get any crazy ideas and try to bust in on him while he was naked or anything. But the shower passed with no incident, and Roxas exited feeling fresh and clean. Thankfully no smoke rushed in to greet him when he exited the bathroom, so he could only assume that Axel had managed to keep the fire situation under control.

Although as he headed back downstairs, there was on ominous scent of burning in the air that begged to differ with that previous analysis. "Axel, what the hell did you do?" Roxas questioned, frowning.

The redhead was standing over the kitchen counter, looking very disappointed in himself, with a tray of burnt cookies before him. "I burnt your snickerdoodles." He forlornly explained. "Sorry, Rox."

Personally, Roxas couldn't give a flying rat's ass about the cookies being burnt because he was pretty sure Axel must have screwed up the whole recipe anyways, but it was Axel's sentiment that sort of got to him. Obviously coming over and making cookies meant something to Axel even if it didn't to Roxas, and now the older boy was looking extremely disappointed at failing his mission of doing something for the blonde.

"Uh… it's okay." Roxas told him, cautiously reaching forward and picking up one of the crunchy, slightly blackened cookies. "I'm sure they're still, uh… just fine."

With a bravery born of feelings that Roxas tried to pass off as extreme hunger (even though he knew that was not the case, and that the feelings were more along the lines of feeling pathetically endeared to Axel at the moment. Not that he would EVER admit to it), Roxas brought one of the burnt cookies to his mouth, biting off a small piece and forcing a smile onto his face as he chewed.

"They're, uh… they're not so bad." He commented, trying to keep from gagging. Axel skeptically looked him over before shaking his head with a laugh.

"Well, thanks."

The blonde was about to congratulate himself on a fib well fibbed, when Axel continued.

"But Roxas… you always were a terrible liar."

**.o.x.O.x.o.**

After cleaning up the kitchen as best as they could, and scrounging some _real_ breakfast out of the pantry, Axel dragged Roxas outside, insisting that they go for a hike. Roxas struggled as best he could, fearing Axel's penchant for getting lost, but in the end he was simply tossed over a lanky shoulder and carried outside against his will.

So, grumbling, Roxas found himself walking around in the snowy woods with Axel. The snow was still all crunchy and covered in sticks fallen from trees, animal pawprints, as well as human footprints and snowmobile tracks, and Roxas internally lamented his lack of an idealized snowscape. Axel, however, was grinning broadly; hands in pockets and scarf snugly around his neck… he looked as though things couldn't have possibly been any more perfect.

"You're really having a fucking great time wandering around in the woods getting lost, aren't you?" Roxas asked him, more of a statement than a question. They had been walking in silence for a while, eventually getting to the outskirts of the resort where there were no more cabins or ski trails, and Roxas was pretty sure that they were going to get completely lost.

"Yup." Came the matter-of-fact response, and Roxas rolled his eyes. Fine, he'd follow Axel around out in the snow, but if the idiot got them lost again he was gonna kill him.

"Don't you ever let your guard down?" Axel suddenly asked, and Roxas threw him a confused look. "I mean… come on, Rox, it's like you never just let go and have a good time. You've always gotta act like you're bothered, and you over analyze everything."

"I do not." Roxas grumbled. "And stop calling me by little nicknames – it's annoying."

"You see!" Axel shot back, walking backwards in front of the blonde and pointing at him. "You see, this is exactly what I'm talking about! Look at me – I'm not even paying attention to where I'm going, and it's just fine! Learn to live a little!"

"You're about to crash into a tree."

"What? No I'm – OW."

Axel crashed to the ground, and Roxas walked right up to him, crouching down with a smirk. "Told you."

Rubbing the back of his head, Axel stood up, grinning. "Oh well. Just cause it hurt and I looked stupid, it doesn't mean I can't get right back up. You should try it sometime."

Roxas huffed and turned away, continuing their walk and assuming Axel would follow along. "Thanks but no thanks. I prefer to – OOMPH."

A sudden weight crashed into Roxas's back, and he went flying face-first into the snow. It was cold and it was wet, and Axel's laughter rang in his ears. The blonde tried shouting at the redhead who was still sitting on him, crowing in delighted triumph, but all that came out were angry sounding muffles that were not in the least bit threatening.

"What's that, Roxie?" the redhead taunted, and Roxas could perfectly picture the crooked smirk that must have been slapped across his face. "You want up?"

"No, I want to punch you in the face and then make painful things happen to your reproductive organs." Roxas tried to say, but thanks to all of the snow in his face it didn't come out coherently in the least. Axel seemed to have gotten the gist of things, though, because he got off of Roxas, allowing the poor, mistreated blonde to shove himself up.

"See?" Axel said with a shit-eating smile as Roxas brushed himself off and glared murderously at the redhead. "That wasn't so bad, was it?"

With a primal war cry, Roxas launched himself at the taller male, sending them both toppling to the ground. To his utmost infuriation, Roxas heard Axel _laughing_, and deciding that this simply wouldn't do, the blonde grabbed a fistful of snow, shoving it down the front of Axel's jacket. He was rewarded with a satisfying yelp of surprise, but unfortunately his triumph was short lived, because Axel wasn't above revenge. When he found a rather generous amount of snow shoved into his pants Roxas couldn't help the high pitched squeal that tore from his throat.

A desperate struggle ensued, wherein each boy tried to get the upper hand, occasionally succeeding, but never for very long. Wet snow was shoved into clothes, faces, hair, and darnit if it didn't start to become a little enjoyable. Roxas found himself laughing along with Axel before he knew it, and the tussling became less jerky and frantic in favour of being more friendly and playful. '_This…'_ Roxas thought '_is actually really fun.'_

Axel eventually flopped onto his back, laughing breathlessly, and Roxas collapsed on top of him, closing his eyes and heaving in breaths of air that he had not been able to take in during the wrestling and laughing.

"Hey Rox?" Axel questioned, eyes still closed, and that content smile still on his face.

"Huh?" the blonde replied, shifting a little.

"I like you when you're happy."

Roxas had to fight back a self-conscious smirk, and his lips automatically formed into a slight pout. "Don't be a sap, Axel."

"I also like it when you're sprawled out on top of me."

"Okay, cut it out now, you pervert."

"And… hey Roxas!"

"Shut up, Axel." He answered, closing his eyes and resting his head on the redhead's slowly rising and falling chest.

"No, Roxas, really –"

"Axel, seriously."

"No, but –"

"Would you just –"

"Roxas, it's snowing."

Eyes flying open, Roxas sat up, looking around. And… Axel was right. It was really, truly snowing.

Soft white flakes fell from the sky in a gentle kind of way, and Roxas was transfixed. It was… he hated to be sappy and lame, but it was almost magical. So very different from any other nature-related thing he had ever experienced. It was completely quiet, and fell so softly onto the ground and into trees and his hair and right on his eyelashes and nose.

"Roxas?"

Shaking his head out of its wondrous haze, the blonde saw that Axel was looking at him with a very fond expression. "Yeah?"

"You okay?" he asked with a gentle smile. "You're kinda zoning out."

Roxas cleared his throat, embarrassed. "Uh, I'm fine. I've just… never seen snow before."

Axel smiled at that, sitting up and pulling Roxas back against his chest, hugging him tightly. "Oh yeah? And how is it?"

Roxas considered the fluffy white snowflakes falling from the sky, the way Axel was so warm and so securely holding onto him, resting his chin on the blonde's shoulders and breathing quietly. Roxas made sure Axel couldn't see his face, and allowed himself a genuine, pleased-as-punch smile.

"It's perfect."

**.o.x.O.x.o.**

After realizing that they were, in fact, soaking wet from rolling around in the snow, Axel and Roxas decided to head back to the cabin for a change of clothes before they got hypothermia.

The walk home was very pleasant for Roxas. He couldn't help but find himself in a state of peaceful contentment. Axel staying quiet also probably had a lot to do with too, because he was sure if the redheaded idiot had decided to start chatting and blabbering the moment would have been completely ruined.

The falling snow had covered their trail of footprints from earlier, but luckily they managed to navigate back to the cabin without too much questioning or worry. Roxas almost didn't want to go inside and miss out on watching the picture perfect snowfall, but he _was_ getting pretty cold.

And also, Riku's cabin's living room had those huuuuge picture windows that took up at least half of the wall area, so he still had a nearly perfect view, even when inside.

"Man, I am _soaked_." Axel declared, pulling his heavy snowboots off and dropping them by the door. "D'ya think there's an extra change of clothes around here that I could use?"

Roxas looked the redhead over, judging his clothing size. Obviously nothing of his own would fit Axel, but he was pretty sure Riku might had some extra clothes stored away in the upstairs hall closet that might work.

"Yeah, hang on, lemme go find some." Roxas told him, heading upstairs. "Don't drip on the nice furniture."

"Alrighty." Axel replied with a devious grin and thumbs up, and Roxas simply shook his head, galumphing upstairs to get some clothes. His first stop was his own room, because he felt like being selfish and getting his own change first. Digging into his luggage, Roxas pulled out a tee shirt and pajama pants, wishing to go for complete comfort after the unpleasant sensation of wet day-clothes all over his skin. Urgh, there was no worse feeling in the world, he was sure of it.

After getting himself into warm, dry clothing, Roxas rummaged around for some things for Axel, and eventually came up with some articles that seemed as though they would be suitable. Gathering them up in his arms, he headed back downstairs, only to find that Axel had made himself at home, having started up a fire in the fireplace.

"What the hell, Axel?" Roxas questioned with a frown. "Don't go touching other people's stuff. And _definitely_ don't go making _fires_ with other people's stuff, geeze."

Axel rolled his eyes. "It's a _fireplace_, Rox. I'm pretty sure it'll be able to handle having a fire made in it."

Roxas sighed, tossing Axel the borrowed clothes. "Whatever. Just ask permission next time before you start setting fires in other people's homes, you pyro. And… uh… what are you doing?"

Right there in the living room, Axel was stripping himself of his wet clothes, and Roxas was a little taken aback. The redhead just shot him a funny look, though, and kept about it.

"I'm getting changed, duh. What did you want me to do, magically poof myself into the dry clothes?"

"Whatever." Roxas grumbled, looking away with an embarrassed blush. On the few occasions when he had seen Axel in a state of undress, it always made him feel really weird. Like… was he allowed to look? Did he really even _want_ to look? Axel… was a _boy_! Wouldn't it be really weird to ogle someone who had all the same parts?

In the end, Roxas settled for a few guilty, reluctant glanced out of the corner of his eye, but otherwise he attempted to keep his gaze focused elsewhere. Oh would you look at that – the sun was going down and it was still snowing. How nice. Very pretty. Certainly much nicer to look at than… _other_ things.

He shot a subtle glance in Axel's direction. _Ahem_. Yes. Outside the window was much nicer. Right.

Eventually Axel was fully redressed, wet clothes tossed into a pile on the hearth of the fireplace, and Roxas was able to stop being such a girl about not looking at him.

"Well isn't this just cozy." Axel commented with a grin, grabbing a blanket from the couch and setting himself down next to Roxas on the plush throw rug in front of the fire. Throwing the blanket around his and Roxas's shoulders, he scooted right on in and pulled Roxas to his side. With an indignant little huff at being manhandled, Roxas allowed for the closeness… because who was he kidding? He liked it.

Axel's arm wrapped around his waist, pulling him closer, and Roxas felt a spark of pleasant nervousness run through him. This felt oddly right. When Axel began gently running his fingers up and down Roxas's side through the thin fabric of his t-shirt, Roxas couldn't help the slight shiver that the action evoked. Slowly leaning into Axel just a little bit more, his own hands found purchase on the older teen's side when he wrapped his arms around Axel.

The redhead paused in his actions for a moment in surprise at Roxas's reciprocation, but then went right back to his affectionate ministrations, albeit with a bit more pressure and concentration.

Roxas closed his eyes, fingers pressing into Axel's side in a cat-like knead every time a particularly pleasant sensation struck from Axel's touch. He was flushed in embarrassment, he just knew it, but at the same time the touch felt nice, and he wasn't embarrassed enough to pull away and let it stop.

Cautiously, Axel began to be a little more brave with his touching, slowly slipping his fingers under the hem of Roxas's shirt to stroke at bare skin. His fingers began applying more pressure, began wandering higher to Roxas's stomach, his ribs, his…

Roxas froze up in surprise, but then went immediately to holding even tighter to Axel, wordlessly expressing his appreciation of the touch. His hands tentatively began kneading at Axel's sides and stomach, and the redhead let out a strained appreciative huff at the actions.

Suddenly Roxas was moving into Axel's lap, needing more touch, more vocal reactions. The quiet gentleness wasn't suiting for them for some reason, and Roxas was determined to switch over to a more fitting situation of quick movements and desperation. Their dynamics and interaction had always been sharp, blunt, pushing limits, and Roxas was of the opinion that this should be no different.

Axel apparently agreed, if the way that he immediately wrapped his arms around Roxas's chest under his shirt was any indication. The blanket had become tangled around them, wrapping them together in a little cocoon of bodies and whirling emotions. Roxas could feel every single angle of Axel's body as it pressed against his, and he gripped his fingers into the fabric of the redhead's shirt, unable to help the low groan that reverberated in his throat.

"Rox…" Axel whispered, desperately clutching the blonde to his chest. His breath came in short gasps, and Roxas could tell that he was trying very hard to hold himself back from something that he wanted to do very badly.

"Y… yeah?" Roxas got out, tucking his face into the crook of the taller teen's neck.

"Is, um… is this okay?" Axel cautiously asked, running his hand up and down Roxas's back, the skin to skin contact evoking shivers.

"N'yeah, it's fine." Roxas whispered back, fingers dancing along the redhead's sides. Why was Axel picking _now_ as the time to stop and chat?

"No, Roxas…" Axel began, slipping his hands down to rest in a light grip on the blonde's hips. Faces flushed, their eyes locked, and Axel's green gaze held an edge of caution to it. "I mean… is this _really_ okay? To do this. I don't… I don't want to get interrupted or have you freak out on me again this time."

Oh.

_Oooooooh_.

Axel… he really wanted to do this. As in… _do_ this. Without getting stopped or cut off in the middle of it like all the previous times. Wow. So was Roxas really okay with that? Was he really ready for something like that?

"U-um, yeah. It's okay." Roxas whispered, sure that he was blushing worse than he ever had before.

Another moment of hesitation followed before Axel was pushing and pulling, maneuvering them to the ground, laying Roxas out on the floor and hovering over him, blanket draping down over them both. Roxas shifted nervously on the fluffy rug, a little bit unnerved by the way that Axel was looking down at him. Sort of like Roxas was a very delicious looking dessert, and Axel hadn't had a proper sugar fix in a long, loooong time.

And then Axel was leaning down, cupping the side of Roxas's face and drawing him into a passionate kiss. It was hurried and sloppy, but Roxas threw himself into it, wrapping his arms around Axel's neck and arching up into the older male's lean body. Groaning at the contact, Axel slid his hands up the smaller boy's shirt, fingers pressing into sensitive flesh. When the redhead ran his thumbs simultaneously over both of Roxas's perked nipples, the blonde broke out of the kiss with a strangled moan.

"H-holy crap, Axel." He breathlessly gasped, in awe over the fact that such a trivial part of his anatomy could be so sensitive. Axel took advantage of their broken liplock as a chance to get Roxas out of his shirt, tugging it up and over the blonde's head and off of his arms. Roxas couldn't help but feel extremely exposed.

Therefore it was only fair that Axel should be in the same state of undress, so that their predicaments could match. Thus was Roxas's reasoning as he reached out, pulling at Axel's shirt until it was off and thrown it carelessly aside.

Both now bare-chested, the boys fit their bodies back together, this time with the pleasurable feeling of skin-to-skin contact. Axel hissed at the feeling, dropping his lips to Roxas's bare shoulder and pressing a kiss to the skin. It seemed a little bit of a silly place to kiss someone in Roxas's opinion, but the sentiment was very sweet, and the feeling of it rather nice. He brought his hands up into Axel's hair, tangling his fingers in the red spikes and gently tugging.

Apparently Axel enjoyed a bit of roughness, because Roxas's hair pulling seemed to spur him on, and he bit down rather un-gently into Roxas's neck. Pleasure laced with a sharp edge of pain coursed like electricity though the blonde's veins, and he arched up sharply into Axel's body.

Groaning pleasurably, Axel nipped and sucked at Roxas's neck, hands working feverishly along the boy's exposed chest and stomach. Roxas's breaths began to come in pants as he pressed into Axel's touch, which was becoming desperate and bold. Roxas slipped his fingers out of Axel's hair, wrapping them instead around the older male's back, so that he could run his palms over smooth skin, dig his nails in.

With a strained groan, Axel pushed his hips forward, firmly grinding into Roxas in a way that evoked very strong, very good feelings.

"A-ah!" Roxas gasped, throwing his head back and hissing in a sharp breath. "Axel, _shit_."

"Fuck, Roxas." Axel grunted, slipping his hands down the back of the blonde's loose-fitting pants and kneading the flesh there. Grinding in earnest, Axel hooked a leg underneath Roxas's hip, pulling the smaller boy's hips flush against his as he continued his movements.

"Oh… oh my God." Roxas groaned, plunging his own hands down the back of Axel's pants and pushing them down as far as he could manage.

Swearing colourfully, Axel appeared to use all of his willpower that he possessed to pull away just enough to sneak his hands to the front of Roxas's pants, undoing the drawstring and pulling the fabric down as low as the close proximity would allow for. As Axel then went to work on his own pants, Roxas thrashed and kicked as much as he was able, disentangling the cumbersome pajama bottoms and wiggling out of them.

Just as soon as he had be-rid himself of the irksome clothing, Axel was right back on him, and the feel of their naked bodies pressed together; every inch of warm, smooth skin sliding together perfectly was enough to pull heartfelt groans from both of them.

"Oh _fuck_…" Axel gasped, grabbing Roxas's waist and pulling him up for even closer pressure and friction as he ground his slick length into the dip of Roxas's hip.

"Hnnn…" Roxas groaned, digging the pads of his fingers into the tender skin of Axel's lower back, pressing his body down in a rhythmic gyration. "Axel, I… oh God, _please_."

Really, Roxas didn't even know what he was asking for. He just knew that he needed _more_, and he figured if he just pleaded enough Axel would be able to understand, would give him more of whatever it was that he needed.

The redhead wrapped his arms around Roxas's back, reaching low and skimming his fingers along a very personal area of Roxas's lower anatomy. It was somewhere Roxas had never had any special attention paid to before, not even by himself, and it was very embarrassing to have someone else touching there. He opened his mouth to say… he wasn't sure what, but _something_, when Axel slipped his fingers just the slightest bit further, just behind his balls, and when the redhead pressed down Roxas let out a loud, keening cry, bucking up dramatically.

"What the _fuck_, Axel?" he questioned, panting. Axel merely 'hmmm'ed in response, doing it again as he set to work laving with his tongue on a particularly sensitive spot on Roxas's neck. The blonde whined, wrapping his legs around Axel's waist and rolling his hips upward in smooth, undulating strokes.

"Ah… Rox…" Axel gasped, pulling his mouth from Roxas's neck and his fingers from Roxas's lower regions. He firmly gripped Roxas's hips, stilling the frantic movements. "You're, ah, gonna have to not do that."

"Why the hell not?" Roxas replied through gritted teeth, forcefully pressing up and causing Axel to hiss out a pleasured breath. "You want it too, I can _feel_ it!"

"I, ah, Roxas I _know_." Axel desperately told him. "But – ah! Rox, if you keep that up this is going to be over before we can even get to the good part."

The… the good part? Roxas's mind scrambled to decipher what Axel meant, but it was a hard thing to do when Axel's hands were crawling all over him, pressing and pulling and _touching_. And then… oh God _then_…

Axel was moving down, slipping down Roxas's body with catlike grace, kissing a trail of nips and touches of lips down the line of Roxas's very sensitive stomach until –

"_FUCK_!"

Warmth. _So _much warmth and wet and _suction_ unlike anything that Roxas had ever before experienced. Was this the good part? Because holy fuck on a stick, Roxas was pretty sure this was about the best that good could ever get.

Roxas tangled his fingers in Axel's mussed spikes as the redhead continued his ministrations, kissing and sucking at Roxas's swollen, weeping length. Roxas was aware of the steady stream of groaning and whimpering that was issuing from his lips, but he couldn't bring himself to care.

"Ah… ah – _Axel_!" he cried, bucking up sharply. Axel pulled back, clearing his throat slightly, before going right back to work, this time using a hand to hold down Roxas's hips. The other moved to the blonde's parted lips, pressing into his mouth, and Roxas sucked on impulse, vaguely aware of the fact that saliva was getting all over the place.

After a few more agonizingly pleasurable moments, Axel pulled his fingers away, and Roxas felt a sense of loss, but that was soon completely overridden by a completely different sensation.

"_Shhhhhit_!" Roxas hissed, jerking sharply as one of Axel's fingers decided to be rather… _intrusive_. "Wh-what…?"

"Shhh…" Axel shushed, running a palm over Roxas's stomach soothingly, lipping at Roxas's erect member. The touches were somewhat distracting, but not quite enough to keep Roxas from being aware of what Axel's _other_ hand was doing. It… it wasn't exactly _painful_, but it was weird as hell, and rather embarrassing to have someone doing… _that_.

When a second finger was added, Roxas shifted uncomfortably, but Axel was quick to comfort and distract, gentle touches and desperate whispers of "Shhhh, it'll be okay, it'll get better…" assuaging Roxas's discomfort.

By now Roxas had caught onto what Axel had meant by 'the good part' and while a part of him was nervous and a little freaked out, and another part of him a little indignant that his role in 'the good part' had been decided for him, still another part was trembling in excited anticipation. The stretching was strange and rather uncomfortable, but Axel kept doing everything he could to help him relax and keep him aroused despite the strangeness of the situation.

And _God_ was Roxas aroused. In fact, he was pretty sure he had never been more turned on ever before in his entire life. Axel was touching him all over, relaxing him, pleasuring him… Roxas felt like he might explode and melt into a puddle of goo all at once, however contradictory the thought seemed.

Axel suddenly pulled away, sliding up the length of Roxas's body and kissing the side of the blonde's face. Roxas was happy that Axel had been considerate enough to not go for his mouth, considering where it had just been.

"Roxas, is this okay?" Axel asked, and he was trembling in nervous anticipation. Obviously he was dying for Roxas to give him a yes. And yet at the same time… Roxas was pretty sure that if he said no, that Axel would most certainly call it off, as loath as he would surely be to do so.

It was that thought that made Roxas all the more certain in his answer… Knowing that Axel was doing this not just for himself, but for Roxas too, and that he was being so generous, so compassionate, so… so unlike his usual self out in public.

"Yeah, Axel. It's more than okay."

And then Axel was kissing him, passionately, full of so much love and appreciation and desperation that Roxas didn't care _where_ his mouth had been, because he was kissing back with just as much of the same emotions, wrapping his arms round the redheads neck and raising his hips as Axel guided himself into place.

It was… the strangest feeling Roxas had ever experienced. There was a definite edge of pain, but thanks to the stretching it was minimal, leaving… a strange sensation of pressure and complete _fullness_. Gasping at the intensity, Roxas leaned his face into Axel's touch as the redhead stroked his cheeks, ran gentle fingers through his hair, spoke comforting nothings into his ears.

Chest rising and falling, Roxas did his best to stay put as Axel sunk in to the hilt, then stopped and stayed still, waiting for Roxas to adjust. Squirming uncomfortably, Roxas wasn't sure _what_ he was feeling anymore. It… it wasn't _bad_ but it certainly wasn't especially pleasurable either. As soon as the discomfort had lessened he shifted his hips experimentally, and Axel hissed in a sharp breath sounding pained.

"Are you okay?" Roxas whispered, and Axel cracked an eye open, laughing nervously.

"Yeah, I'm okay, Rox. Just… waiting for you. You alright?"

"Yeah…" the blonde huffed, squirming a little. "It's just… weird."

"That's alright, just – _shit, Roxas_!" Axel exclaimed, dropping his face into Roxas's neck. "Stop fucking wiggling around unless you're ready."

"Sorry, I…" Roxas really didn't know what to say. "… sorry."

"It's alright." Axel assured him, stroking sweaty blonde locks out of his face. "Just… shit, Rox, you're so _tight_."

Something about the desperation in Axel's voice as he said those words made Roxas's stomach lurch in a most pleasant way. "Uh, Axel…" he tentatively whispered. "I… think I'm ready."

Axel took a few more deep breaths before responding with a quiet "… Okay."

And then… he moved.

Roxas tried very hard to not cry out, because he knew that would only make Axel think that something was wrong, but… It was just so, _so_ very weird. The first few strokes had him clutching desperately at Axel's shoulders, mind reeling, but then as Axel shifted his hips, pressed a little deeper, hit something deep inside of him… he was clutching and keening and reeling for completely different purposes.

"_FUCK_!" he cried out, pushing his hips back into Axel's. "Axel, nnnhn, oh my God, _yes_."

"Roxas…" Axel breathed, eye closed and an utterly blissful look on his face, edged with slight strain from the infinite pleasure he was no doubt experiencing from Roxas's body tight around himself. Slick skin slid together in the most satisfying of ways, and Roxas threw his head back, letting the feelings overtake him as Axel increased the pace of his thrusts, grunting at the exertion.

The slapping of skin and the wet sounds of suction that accompanied their joining accented their gasps and cries in the most erotic of ways, and Roxas was overwhelmed by it. Bucking up needily, he yanked Axel down into a sloppy kiss that was all tongue and teeth and gasps, but neither of them cared.

Roxas's throbbing length was trapped between their slick bodies, being rubbed and stimulated in the most sinful ways. And with how Axel was pounding into him, so _deeply_, he knew it wasn't going to be long before he was pushed over the edge.

"A-Axel, I…" he gasped, hips undulating into Axel's. "I, ah, I'm… I think I'm going to…"

With a desperate cry tearing from his throat, Roxas came, arching up and feeling his whole body tense in climax as a warm splatter of release hit his and Axel's chest and stomach. Axel followed right after, groaning lowly in his throat and thrusting forward once, twice more into Roxas's body as it tightened around him.

In the aftermath they laid there, panting, trying to regain their composure, and Roxas's whole body went limp as his chest rose and fell, trying to pull air into his lungs. Axel was collapsed on top of him, heaving equally, and neither of them spoke a word, brains too addled to form even the most basic of sentences.

"Wow." Axel eventually breathed, after a few minutes had passed. "That…"

"…yeah." Roxas agreed.

Lapsing into silence once again, Roxas tried to regain his thoughts, which were fluttering around in his head at about the same frantic rate as his heart in his chest. He expected to feel… panicky, or uncomfortable, or maybe even regretful… but in the end all he felt was very…

Very complete.

"Hey Rox, you okay?" Axel breathily inquired, running his hands through Roxas's hair.

"Yeah… I'm alright." Roxas replied, closing his eyes and suddenly feeling very worn out. Good, but worn out.

"Hey hey hey, don't go falling asleep on me." Axel warned, shaking Roxas's shoulder a bit. "Otherwise you'll just complain when you wake up in the morning on the floor."

"Yeah, okay." Roxas sleepily agreed, attempting to push himself up. With a wince he fell back to the plush rug, an undignified whimper escaping his lips.

"No – no, Rox don't try to do it on your own." Axel told him, lightly chuckling. "Here, lemee help…"

And then Roxas found himself picked up into Axel's arms, blanket wrapped around them both, and he was being carried to bed.

Roxas was pretty sure that being laid down in a cool mattress had never been more absolutely wonderful feeling. With a sigh he sunk into the cushiony bedding, feeling Axel crawling in right after him, wrapping an arm around him and pulling him close. Roxas scooted in, tucking his head under Axel's chin.

"Night, Roxas." Axel gently said, placing a kiss to the boy's temple and whispering three little words that made Roxas suddenly feel much more awake. "I love you."

Axel…he'd confessed to strong feelings on a few occasions. But Roxas was only just realizing that he had never once said it back.

"Hey Axel…?" he whispered, wrapping his arms around the redhead's chest.

"Hm?" the older teen returned, nuzzling his face into Roxas's hair.

"I… I'm pretty sure I love you too."

**.o.x.O.x.o.**

**-o-**

Oh snap, they finally did it. XD

I bet everyone out there is giving a collective "OH GOD FINALLY" but hey, it needed to be worked up to! XD I hope the culmination of this little journey to Axel/Roxas officialness was worth the wait!

… and I'm SOOO sorry about the delay in getting this chapter out! My laptop totally crashed, and this chapter was held hostage! D8

But yeah, now it's posted after many trials and tribulations, and I really hope that it was enjoyed!

(And... normally I'd cut out some of the explicitness of the lemon for a censored, ff-dot-net-friendly version, and then link to the whole juicy thing that would get shoved onto AFF so that ff-dot-net wouldn't pitch a fit at me for possible violation of terms, but… I just put it all here this time, for simplicity's sake. Please don't be upset at me! D8)

Next chapter will be the last!


	8. It’s Not Over ‘Til It’s Over!

**Author's notes:** Oh man you guys! This is it, final chapter! 8D And holy crap, I couldn't have done it without you! Really! It was thanks to encouragement by reviewers and other such friends that got this story created, and… wow, the support I got along the way for this undertaking of a fic was absolutely _phenomenal_, I mean it. I never expected to get so much positive encouragement and support for this, so thank you, thank you, THANK YOU from the bottom of my heart! I love each and every one of you so very, very much! 

Sometimes writing this wasn't easy, when real life problems cropped up, or when I experienced various technical difficulties or writer's block…But the support, the reviews, the _fanart_… I am just so blown away right now. You guys are AWESOME with a capital AWESOME! 8D

… but I'm done now, for serious this time. XD Plotline's over, ideas are used up, things are wrapped up all nicely, everyone's happy, the end. X3 So no trilogy for this plot, you hear me? I AM DONE WITH THIS NOW. XDD

Why are you still reading this, anyways? XD Skip over my drabbles and enjoy the last chapter, you silly people, you!

So much love,

Quirk

**.x.x.x.**

_And I know you're near me  
I know you understand  
Say that you're with me  
I know your face like the back of my hand_

_Please don't lose hold of me out there_

"February Air" – Lights

**.o.O.o.**

**Fool Me Twice…**

**It's Not Over 'Til It's Over!**

**-o-**

Roxas awoke to the feeling of warmth and comfort.

And not just the regular kind that any ol' person could get any ol' day simply by waking up in a comfortable bed. No, this was a special kind of cozy, and the blonde made some happy little wiggles and murmurs, nuzzling into the cuddly little nest…

… and that's when he realized that someone was cuddling him back.

Sudden clarity washing over him, Roxas immediately set to work trying to remember why he would be cuddled up with someone first thing in the morning. When he shifted a bit, attempting to have a look around at his surroundings, a little sliver of soreness edged with a smidgen of pain raced up his spine, and last night's events all came flooding back to him.

A wave of calm engulfed him, and Roxas opened his eyes to find Axel already awake; on his side, propped up on his elbow. He was just… just kind of _looking_ at Roxas, seeming to be utterly pleased, but when the smaller teen looked back at him he immediately pulled away a bit, expression sobering up.

"Uh, morning, Roxas." He greeted, seeming to be a bit nervous. Roxas furrowed his brows in confusion, not sure why Axel was acting so funny, but realizing that it was making _him_ a little bit uncomfortable too. Axel swallowed thickly, cautiously looking Roxas over, and the blonde realized that Axel was probably acting funny because he was afraid that Roxas was going to freak out again and kick him out of the house and regret what they had done until the day he died.

But… God if the redhead hadn't looked so utterly _content_ with the world, just to be laying beside Roxas, looking at him while he slept. (Which was a little weird, in Roxas's opinion, but sweet nonetheless.)

Roxas smiled warmly, sleepily, and scooted in, intent on reassuring Axel that this time everything was okay. Finally. Snuggling up and nuzzling his face into Axel's neck, Roxas gave a sleepily returned "Morning, Axel." before wrapping his arms around the older male's bare torso, sighing happily.

He wasn't sure if things were really quite as completely 100 comfortable and figured out as he was playing it off as, but when Roxas felt Axel pull him into the warmest, tightest, _happiest_ hug he had ever received… he figured that the circumstances didn't have to be absolutely perfect for things to be okay.

**.o.x.O.x.o.**

"Come on, come on, come on! We're gonna miss the train!"

Sora raced around like a chicken with its head cut off, crazily trying to get some hasty organization going in the most hindering, unorganized manner possible.

"Well maybe if you'd stop running around and getting in our way, we'd be able to get everything together!" Roxas reprimanded, narrowly avoiding a collision with the excitable brunette as he raced through the living room to get to the kitchen, and then back again.

Bags and various other belongings were strewn about downstairs as everyone tried to gather everything together. It was, unfortunately, time to leave and go back home, and the morning had been spent hastily gathering everything up at the last minute. Quite a contrast to the previous day, which had been spent lounging around the cabin for Axel for Roxas, playing in the snow for Sora and Riku, and hitting the slopes with Seifer one last time for Hayner.

Unfortunately, making the most of their last day had meant that everyone had put off packing, and were thus seriously underprepared for an early departure the next morning. Scrambling and frantically gathering possessions that seemed to have somehow gotten scattered to the farthest corners of the house during the week, Riku, Sora, Hayner, and Roxas did their best to get everything together as quickly as they could, always keeping an eye on the time so that they wouldn't miss their train.

Eventually the chaos subsided enough that organization could take place, and things could get packed properly and shoved in the rental car. Everyone did one last check of the house, making sure that nothing was forgotten, straightening up a bit.

And in his last minute checking and cleaning, Roxas paused in the upstairs hallway, looking down to the wide windows of the living room. Outside it was as picturesque as he could have ever asked for. Snow lightly drifted down from the skies, and the world was covered in a sparkling blanket of white.

"What'cha doooooin'?" Sora's chipper voice cut in, startling Roxas out of his vague, drifting thoughts. Turning to see the energetic brunette fixing him with a happy grin, Roxas furrowed his brows into a light glare.

"Nothing." He replied.

"Oh no you weren't!" Sora sing-songed. "I think you were looking out the window, fawning over what a beautiful world lays just outside, and what a wonderful vacation you had!"

Roxas fought very hard to keep a bush from rising to his cheeks. Well snap. That… that kinda _had_ been what he had been thinking about, hadn't it? Damn it, when had he gotten so mushy? That was gonna have to stop. If _Sora_ was capable of reading his thoughts… that just wasn't a sign of his mindset going in a good direction at _all_.

"HEY GUYS! What's going… on?"

Roxas's attention went right to the door, which Axel had just burst through, looking initially in high spirits, expression faltering as he took in the scene before him.

"Uh… what's going on? It looks kinda barren in here…"

Oh crap. Oh crap, oh crap, oh crap. Roxas felt the world crash around him as he realized the situation.

He had _completely_ forgotten to tell Axel that he was leaving today.

What with the, uh… rather _distracting_ events of the previous day, and the fact that he had plain and simple lost track of the time, telling Axel about their departure had completely slipped his mind.

"Well we're leaving today." Sora explained with a pout. "Didn't Roxas tell you?"

"Uh…" Axel looked torn between being confused and being completely stricken. "No, he didn't."

"I…" Roxas stuttered, taking a step towards the stairs. "Axel, I am _so_ sorry, I completely forgot. I wasn't trying to…"

"Oh, no… it's okay." Axel replied, using that tone that people always use when things most certainly _aren't_ fine, but they sure are gonna try their darndest to pretend it's that way.

Scowling, Roxas tromped down the stairs. "No." he insisted. "It's _not_."

Grabbing Axel by the wrist, Roxas dragged him out to the deck, shivering at the cold. Axel looked at a loss as to what to make of the situation, so Roxas pushed him up against the side of the house, holding him by his shoulders and doing some quick explaining.

"Axel, I swear, I totally forgot that I was supposed to be leaving today. I _swear_ I wasn't trying to just… to… do… _that_ with you, and then just disappear the next day."

"I… okay." Axel replied, looking like he believed Roxas, but disappointed all the same. "But I mean… were you even going to call?"

Roxas rubbed his temples with his fingers, fighting off a forming headache. _Would_ he have called? Would he even have remembered? God, wouldn't _that_ just have been perfect, to up and leave without even sparing a thought for the person who this whole trip had ended up revolving around?

"Axel, I think I'm a terrible person." Roxas said, quite frankly. "What the hell is wrong with me?"

Surprisingly enough, this was what caused Axel to loosen up a bit, look a bit more at ease. He even smiled a little.

"Rox, you're not a terrible person." He said. "You just… make a lot of mistakes, or, you know… forget about stuff. Or otherwise screw things up. But… I think you don't mean to do it, so… It's not your fault. And besides… I like you just the way you are, even the part that makes mistakes."

Well _crap_. Roxas had no idea how to respond to that. Axel was essentially letting him off the hook for past, present, and future instances of being an idiot. It surely wasn't meant to be a golden opportunity to purposefully be an insensitive ass, but…

Axel understood. He was willing to compromise for potential personality flaws in order to make things work. Crazy and annoying but occasionally emotional and perceptive Axel, paired up with callous on the outside, but sensitive and meaning well deep down Roxas. Well then. Didn't they make just the perfectly dysfunctional little pair?

"Okay." Roxas responded, hesitantly letting himself smile in a way that he hoped convey his feelings of gratitude for the understanding. Because far be it from him to actually come out and say 'oh well thanks, Axel! I'll try real hard not to screw up, and I like you despite your flaws too!'

Pfft, as if. The golden rule to Roxas was: deep down he felt it, but it'd take wild horses to drag it out of him.

"Hey Roxas, come on! We need to get going!"

Riku's voice called out from inside, and Roxas shouted an annoyed reply to him before turning back to Axel.

"So… I guess I'll be going then." He said, shifting on his feet. "It was, uh… nice to see you again. Um… bye then."

He had just turned on his heel to retreat back into the house when Axel snorted, grabbing ahold of his arm and dragging him back to his chest, hugging Roxas tightly from behind.

"Yeah, I don't think so." He scoffed, grinning. "You don't get to get off that easy."

Roxas found himself whirled around, only to find that Axel was smiling at him in a most unnerving way. He caught a brief flash or Sora, Riku and Hayner, who had come to the sliding glass doors leading to the patio to see what was going on, and he opened his mouth to protest any further canoodling whilst they had onlookers, but Axel dove right on in, even after seeing the other boys at the door.

Oh Lord. This was truly mortification at its best. Panic rose in Roxas, and he was on the verge of pulling away when Axel hugged him during the kiss. Not any sort of desperate clutch of passion, no trapping bind, just… a hug. Simple as that. Open and understanding and damn it… so full of love. Roxas had the feeling that even if he pulled away because of not wanting to be seen by his friends, Axel would still understand; would still forgive him.

And so with a sigh, Roxas closed his eyes and wrapped his own arms back around Axel, and he felt the taller male smile into their kiss.

When Roxas heard clapping and catcalls from his friends, he couldn't help but smile back.

**.o.x.O.x.o.**

Traveling by train, Roxas decided, was just about the worst form of transportation, second only to traveling by bus. He wasn't sitting next to a stranger, but he was actually starting to consider throwing himself into any other vacant seat he could find – awkward confined space with some random person be damned – if only to rid himself of Hayner's enthusiastic, incessant _babbling_.

"… so I told him _fine_, I'll kick his ass into next week, and then he'll go crazy waiting for time to catch up so that I can do it all over again, and do you know what he said to _that_?"

"No, Hayner. I really don't." Roxas replied in perfect monotone, face in his hands.

"Well Seifer, that _ass_, he just smirked and said on the extraordinary chance that I _did_ manage to pull that off, instead of going crazy he'd just spend his time waiting by devising new and creative ways to –"

"Yeah, that's okay, I really don't want to hear about that." Roxas cut in, massaging his temples in frustration. Swear to God, if he had to hear _one more story_ about the twistedly passionate and competitive sex that Seifer and Hayner had managed to have all week long, he was going to open the window and throw himself right out of the train.

"Oh… right." Hayner replied, grinning abashedly. "But why does it weird you out so much? I mean you and that Axel guy seem to be awfully –"

"Okay, we are _not_ taking about this. Really." Roxas insisted, burying his head in his arms. "And since when are you so open to the whole… guy thing?"

Peeking out from the shelter of his arms, Roxas saw Hayner shrug.

"I dunno, it's not really the a 'guy thing'. I still totally dig girls and all that, I guess. It's… just Seifer. I mean… I always was aware of how much he got me going, I guess I just didn't realize that maybe it…"

Roxas stopped listening at this point, thinking about what Hayner had said. He was pretty work out of thinking about what liking Axel meant for him, but… maybe it was as simple as that. He just liked Axel. That was that. He didn't have to re-think his whole life, or have an all-encompassing label handed to him on a silver platter… it didn't even have to make sense. It was just how things had ended up, and as long as he was pretty sure that he was okay with it, that was fine by him.

After a lengthy train ride that managed to feel about thee times as long as it really had been, they finally arrived back home; back into the warm sun and familiar places and people. Roxas blinked as he stepped out of the train, shielding his eyes from the bright sky. Hayner followed after him, and Sora came bouncing out after that, seeming to be barely weighed down at all by the large luggage bag that he had slung over his shoulder.

"So wasn't that a fun trip?" he happily questioned, beaming. Roxas couldn't help the crooked smile that stole onto his lips.

"Yeah, I guess it was alright."

"I knew it!" Sora eagerly responded. "I knew you'd have a good time, didn't I tell you Riku? That it would be good if Roxas came with us?"

Riku shook his head, amused.

"That you did." He agreed. "Now come on, let's get home. Roxas, do you need a ride?"

The blonde shook his head. "Nah, I'm good." He replied. "I've been cooped up in that freaking train for way too long and my house isn't too far from here – I'll walk."

And after a few goodbyes he did just that. Despite the bag he had to lug around, it was nice to stretch his legs, and walking always seemed to sort out his thoughts. And after the week he had just had, there were a LOT of thoughts to sort out. But… it looked like everything was finally going to be okay.

Fucking FINALLY.

**.o.x.O.x.o. **

Axel and Roxas hadn't really talked for more than a week. A couple of calls had been made, but it evolved into a game of phone tag more than anything else, with one of them always catching the other at a time when answering a call wasn't convenient. So a few brief "hi, how are you?'s" were exchanged, but no conversation of substance had really taken place.

And not surprisingly, the gap in communication was mostly coming from Roxas's end. He slept in for most mornings when Axel would have been able to call before work, afternoons were busy for Axel, so no calling could take place then, and evenings were always the time to run around with friends, for both of them. Initially Roxas would wake up to discover a few voicemails and text messages that had come his way from Axel while he had been sleeping in, but after a week or so they started declining.

Roxas really never had been one to spend any significant amount of time communicating by phone.

But he did miss Axel. And even though for some stubborn reason he refused to consistently make an effort to keep in touch, he did admit that he missed the obnoxious redhead. His school had a ridiculously long Christmas break, and even though he'd spent a week at Riku's cabin, there was still another two left before classes started up again. So he spent his days hanging out with his usual friends in the usual spots, but at the same time it all felt a little…restless. Roxas had always been one to ignore problems in favour of hoping that they would go away all on their own, but… for some reason his separation from Axel was really bugging him.

It probably had something to do with the fact that he had only _just_ gotten things figured out before getting pulled away. Roxas may have been stubborn about ignoring things he didn't want to deal with, but darnit if he couldn't also be stubborn about getting something he _did_ want.

So after that week or so of avoiding the situation, hoping that a solution would drop down out of the sky to fix his problem, Roxas finally decided it was time to put his stubborn nature to use and come up with a way to solve this weird little dilemma that he found himself in.

**.o.x.O.x.o.**

Axel dejectedly wiped down the café counter with a wet cloth, bored out of his mind and wishing more than anything that Roxas was there to entertain him and keep him company. He hadn't heard much from the blonde since he'd left… which was understandable, given Roxas's track record when it came to his abilities to keep in touch, but it was still disheartening.

He now had no doubts that Roxas really did care, underneath it all, but their dynamics seemed to flourish when they were in steady face-to-face contact, rather than through phone lines or letters or emails or carrier pigeons or God knows what other means of communication they could come up with. Some people did well with constant face-to-face contact, and some people did better long distance. Axel and Roxas definitely didn't fit into the latter category.

Sighing for what must have been the 19,872,529th time that day, Axel finished his sweep of the counter, and tossed the cloth in the hamper under the sink. It was a slow day, just the same as the previous days before it had been. Winter break was ending for the rest of the community, and the only reason Axel was still there was because he'd come along with Larxene, Marluxia, and Demyx to stay for the duration of their school break, which stretched much longer than ordinary Christmas vacations.

But… really, the only reason he'd come along was to have people to hang around with over break, because if he hadn't come along he'd have been essentially stranded at home with no one else. Well… that wasn't entirely true – Sora was always willing to be a friend; Riku wasn't especially close to him, but was always rather great to hang out with; and even though Zexion was rather quiet and studious, he was a good guy. But he really wasn't very close to any of them, and he didn't think he'd have been able to stand it if he'd called Roxas up over break to hang out now that there was finally no longer the excuse of school holding him back, and the blonde had still blown him off.

So up to the mountains he had gone. And even though it was great hanging out with his friends, and Ven had turned out to be a pretty great work buddy, he still missed Roxas, especially now that things were good between them and he was missing out on valuable Axel/Roxas time.

Despite Roxas's concerns, Ven held absolutely no interest for Axel, but darnit if the kid didn't look strikingly similar to his own cherished blonde. Sometimes he'd catch Ven out of the corner of his eye and his heart would jolt for a split second, until he caught himself, remembering that Roxas was far, far away, and that there was no way he was just glance up one day and see him standing there.

Nope, he was just going to have to be patient and wait, and try to enjoy his remaining time at the ski lodge as best as he could. Yep. Just push Roxas to the back of his brain and try to think about his friends and the snow and skiing and working at the café and Roxas Roxas Roxas _RoxasRoxasRoxas_!

"Grah!" Axel burst, slamming his hands down on the counter. The lack of distractions was infuriating in its lack of keeping his thoughts from drifting back to _Roxas_.

"What?" Ven asked in reply to the outburst, boredly sitting on a barstool and kicking his legs for lack of anything else to be doing.

"Just… nothing." Axel replied, sighing dramatically and throwing his face into his arms on the counter. "This has got to be the most frustrating thing in the world."

"Huh?" Ven asked, and Axel realized that having his head buried in his arms muffled his words considerably.

"I said," He began again, sitting up and leaning against the counter. "That this has got to be the –"

A little beeper went off from Ven's wristwatch, and the blonde sat up, looking pleased.

"Time for my break." he announced with an extreme amount of relief in his voice, jumping off the barstool. "Man the shop while I'm gone, I'll be back."

"Oh, right." Axel replied as Ven hurried off, no doubt to meet up with Terra. "Yeah, don't mind me, I'll just sit here, alone and friendless. Scamper off to your little boyfriend, it's cool."

Ven was long gone as Axel grumbled his little speech, but it still felt good to put it out there. Deciding to be productive, Axel walked over to the sink, preparing to wash some dishes.

Of course the _moment_ he stuck his hands into the sudsy water, the café counter phone rang. Axel started in surprise, before glaring at its annoying sense of timing. When the hell had they gotten a phone, anyways? Had that thing always been there?

Wiping his hands off on a dishtowel, Axel stalked over to the phone, picking it up. "Hello, you've reached the Nomura Ski Resort café, Axel speaking, how may I help you?"

"_Yeah, hi, can I get a double grandé mochachocolatté express, whole milk, extra hot, extra whip, with chocolate sprinkles and a just a dash of cinnamon?_"

Axel reeled at the outlandish order. "Sir…" he started, trying to maintain his polite, customer-friendly tone. "This isn't a Starbucks."

"_Oh_." Came the voice over the phone. "_In that case, can I have an iced java spiced caramel apple frapachino macchiato, minimal foam, with grated almonds scattered on top_?"

Axel glared at the phone. "Sir, even if I knew what that was, I wouldn't make it for you. I'm sorry, but we're just the ski lodge café, we don't make all of those girly froo-froo drinks here."

"_Okay, okay_." The voice on the phone said, finally seeming to catch on. "_So then… can I just get a spiced chai, with a side of eccentric redhead?"_

"Sir, I… what?"

"_I'm sorry, do you not have that either?_"

Axel held the phone away from him for a moment, looking to it in confusion. Was this some kind of practical joke? Cautiously, he brought it back to it's proper positioning at his mouth and ear, speaking guardedly. "Uh… can I get your name please?"

"_Roxas_."

Pure surprise was written all over Axel's expression for a moment as he processed this bit of information, and as the pieces fell into place he broke into a face-splitting grin.

"Roxas, what the…?" he asked, smile evident in his voice. "How the hell did you get this number?"

Even though he couldn't see it, the redhead could picture Roxas shrugging on the other end of the line, wearing a small, smug smirk. "_Got it from Riku."_ He revealed. "_And I figured I'd brighten up your boring work day with a little confusion_."

Axel laughed, leaning comfortably against the counter and fiddling with a coaster. "Yeah, well mission accomplished. What the _flying fuck_ were those things you listed off? Are those even real drinks? Please tell me they're not."

Again, Axel could see the smugly amused expression that must surely be upon his Roxie's face. "_I have no idea_." The blonde admitted. "_I just made them up. But for all I know they could be real, what with all the crazy, froo-froo drinks out there these days_."

Chuckling, Axel cradled the phone to the side of his face with his shoulder. "Yeah, that sounds about right…"

Sighing, Axel smiled, feeling extremely fond of Roxas, and quite endeared by the little stunt he had just pulled with the fake orders. "Sooo…" he began. "I've missed you."

He could hear Roxas's scoff over the phone, and he was sure the blonde was rolling his eyes, wondering why he even bothered to call Axel in the first place. The familiarity was enough to make Axel's heart swell, and his grin widened impossibly.

"_Don't be such a chick, Axel, seriously_."

"Well I do!" Axel defended, laughing. "And it's all the worse because _someone_ never answers my phone calls!" he bemoaned, throwing the back of his hand to his forehead dramatically, even though he knew Roxas couldn't see it. "Every moment without you is the cruelest torture, and my heart longs for the day when we may once again meet, our lips and loins tingling in anticipation as we –"

"_Okay, seriously, knock off the drama. Put on your big girl panties and deal with it. You'll see me again soon enough_."

"But I miiiiiiss yoooou!" Axel insisted, trying to convey his pout in his voice.

"_Yeah, yeah, yeah_." Roxas exasperatedly sighed, and Axel grinned, knowing that was a Roxas version of 'I miss you too.' "_So are you gonna make me my drink or what?_"

Axel paused, a little confused. "Wait… you're not serious, right?"

"_Of course I'm serious_." Roxas replied. "_What, you thought I was just calling to be cute? Yeah right, Axel, make me my drink. I'll even make it easy on you – a hot chocolate should be within your means, right_."

At this point Axel was frowning, not sure if Roxas was still joking or not. It was hard to tell with that kid. "Wait… Roxas, what the hell? Are you still kidding or what? Cause I can't just make a drink that's going to go to waste…"

"_Who says it's going to go to waste_?"

"…what?"

"_Axel, look up_."

Confusion written all over his features, Axel looked up, not sure exactly what Roxas was playing at. The lodge was practically empty, and the snow was still falling thickly outside the… the window?

Dropping the phone in shock, Axel's jaw went slack at the sight of a very familiar blonde who was standing right outside the window, bundled up and smiling; cell phone still held to one side of his face. At Axel's expression he laughed, waving.

Roxas hadn't been entirely sure about his plan, initially, but the look of utter joy that passed over Axel's face right before he leapt over the counter, running to the door, was enough to make Roxas feel like it had been the right thing to do, and was about to become so completely worth it.

Sure enough, when the door burst open and Axel launched at him, attacking him with a full body hug that crushed the air right out of his lungs and nearly knocked them both down into the snow, it felt worth it, like it had been the right thing to do. Axel was laughing like an idiot, holding onto him like he was never going to let go ever again. Roxas just barely managed to shove his phone back into his pocket before Axel was grabbing at his face, tangling long fingers in his disheveled blonde spikes, and tugging him into a heated kiss.

In that perfect moment, wrapped up in jackets and a scarf and Axel's arms as the snow fell down from the sky, Roxas made up his mind. This was what he wanted. Always and forever, this perfect feeling of absolute complete rightness despite the absurdity.

Axel pulled away from their meshing of lips with a happy sigh, coddling Roxas to his chest like a precious, long-lost child who had finally come home. Roxas tucked his head under Axel's chin, humming a contented murmur.

"Roxas…" Axel whispered, sounding like his heart was about to burst. "I'm _so_ glad you came back."

And Roxas smiled, closing his eyes and gripping Axel tightly, not caring who saw them like this.

"You know what, Axel? I am too."

**-o-**

_**And they all lived happily ever after!**_

_**The End!**_

**-o-**


End file.
